The Desert SwimmerBrendan CullenLabel: Allen & UnwinDescription: Brendan Cullen manages a 10000-head sheep station 65 kilometres outside Broken Hill New South Wales-over 600 kilometres from the nearest beach. Yet in 2022 he swam the English Channel. Swimming became part of Brendan's recovery from severe depression that had seen him cope through drinking overwork and emotional absence until he sought help at Broken Hill Hospital. In 2015 watching his brother compete in open-water swimming sparked something. Despite the exhaustion it made him feel vitally alive. By 2018 he'd set his sights on the Channel. Through Covid restrictions he trained before dawn in murky Menindee Lake and icy local waters. He completed the crossing in 17 hours-64 kilometres after currents dragged him off course. The Desert Swimmer shows the good that comes from facing challenges head-on.
