Brandon Sneed brings you up to date with all the good that’s going on in the sports world.
Last week, GoodCall brought you the story of David Walliams, the British comedian and charitable endurance sporting event enthusiast who was set to try swimming 140 miles down the Thames River to raise money and awareness and all that good stuff for Sport Relief. He went into the water last Monday in Lechlade, Gloucestershire.
Well, this week’s Story of the Week is that he made it.
It took him eight days, as planned, and it was not super pleasant. The water was unusually freezing, he got diarrhea, he threw up, and because everything in was going out he had no energy. In fact, the Metro UK reports that at one point, he considered quitting.
Well, he made it. And according to The Telegraph, he raised more than £1 million—$158 million. ONE HUNDRED FIFTY EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS!
AND he saved a drowning Labrador retriever along the way. This guy!
Walliams finished around 6 p.m. yesterday at the Westminster Bridge, where awaited his wife Lara Stone, other friends such as comedian Miranda Hart and Olympic rower Steve Redgrave, and a large crowd of fans.
He saved the dog near Cookham Lock, Berkshire, as it struggled to get out of the river.
My favorite quote from the whole thing? Walliams telling the Metro, “I am excited [about finishing] because I’ve had enough of swimming. I’m kind of over swimming now and I need to just have a nice lie-down.”
No kidding. I’m tired just from writing about it. I tried doing triathlons once. Swimming was an absolute nightmare. I barely made it through the 500-meter swim leg of my first triathlon. Started choking, panicked, thought I might drown. And this was in a pool. I’m such a wimp.
Swimming down the Thames River? Let’s just say, David Walliams, you’re a hero, good sir.
Speaking of triathlons, let’s get into the other bits of goodness, shall we?
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Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms And More Of ‘The Office’ Crew To Do Triathlon | Andy Bernard better have packed something to keep those nips from chafing. According to a tweet from Dwight Schrute/Rainn Wilson earlier this week, Ed Helms will be joining him, Ellie Kemper, Oscar Nunez, and Paul Lieberstein (who plays Toby on The Office) as they participate in the 25th annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon this Sunday, Sept. 18. Wilson, Helms, Kemper and Lieberstein will run the 4-mile final leg of the Classic distance race, with Nunez handling the 18-mile bike portion.
The event is one of Southern California’s most anticipated every year. It raises money for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Pediatric Cancer Research Program, and the goal this year is $1 million.
For more information about the race and how to donate, click here.
New York Yankees sending relief to victims of Hurricane Irene and Texas wildfires | The New York Yankees are sending a total of $125,000 divided between the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross to aid in recovery efforts for victims of Hurricane Irene and the recent Texas wildfires. Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal, the Yankees’ general partner and vice chairperson, made the announcement earlier this week. The organization will send $50,000 apiece to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross for Irene recovery as well as $12,500 apiece for Texas wildfire relief.
Back For the Future For Parkinson’s: Nike Releases the Nike MAGs | The future is back. And it’s coming to take on Parkinson’s. And it’s got some nice shoes.
Nike announced this week that 1,500 pairs of the Marty McFly’s mythical 2011 Nike MAG shoes are going to auction on eBay [Nikemag.ebay.com] with all net proceeds going directly to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
They went to auction on Sept. 8 and will be available until Sept. 18.
A ‘Lost Scene’ has been developed to promote the new kicks, which Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) gave Fox/McFly to wear to better fit in during his visit to the year 2015. Lloyd and Don Fullilove reprise their roles in the scene alongside actor Bill Hader and non-actor/good basketball player Kevin Durant. See the videos, view a special message from Michael J. Fox, and get more information by clicking here.
Rugby Coach Jon Beeby Walks Really, Really Far—Like, Across America—To Raise Money For Underprivileged Teenagers | Nottingham Rugby head coach Jon Beeby last month walked 3,152 miles across the United States in 90 days—averaging about 40 miles a day—to raise £100,000 (or $158,510) for the Tag Rugby Trust.
He left New York City in May and arrived at his final destination in Los Angeles last month, mostly following Route 66. He planned to use the money to help underprivileged teenagers improve their lives in some of the world’s poorest regions, all via Tag Rugby, a British charity the mission of which is “Building Better Futures Through Rugby.”
Thing is, he didn’t exactly hit his goal of £100,000. He raised only about £8,000 ($12,680), or less than 10 percent of what he wanted. Of course, twelve grand is still a ton of money … but it’s gotta be heartbreaking, or at least heartbruising, to spend three months hiking across America and only get 10 percent of what you were hoping for. I mean, I’m sure he got a lot out of the experience and it’s not like £8,000 is a small amount of money or anything like that, but still. So click here if you want to help him towards his goal.
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