At Westminster Bridge, on Easter Sunday (April 7th 2012), Jon White and Lee Waters crossed the finish line of one of the toughest canoe races in the world, 28 hours and 9 minutes after they started in Devizes, Somerset.
The Devizes to Westminster (DW) is a non-stop canoe race that covers 125 miles of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Thames, including 77 portages (where the canoe is carried around locks or very low bridges). Jon, who is a triple amputee and Lee, who suffered multiple gun shot wounds, competed amoung able bodied canoeists, one third of whom retired from this challenging race. It is to their credit that Jon and Lee had trained hard and were well prepared for this race. Even in the unfavourable conditions for fast times, they managed to finish the race in under their target time.
Jon and Lee who were both injured while serving in Afghanistan, competed in the race to raise money for The Royal Marines Association and SSAFA Forces Help. Donations to these great causes have been flooding in (follow the links to the just-giving pages if you would like to make a contribution).
