Man taking on two world records in memory of grandfather

Louis Alexander wants to "spread awareness for dementia and the fight for a cure, to honour my grandfather"

A London man is hoping to achieve two world records by swimming across the world's seven seas in memory of his grandfather, who died with dementia.

Louis Alexander, 24, from Westminster, also aims to visit places his grandfather went or was fascinated by.

If successful, he will become the youngest person to swim the seven seas, and the first person to run the seven continents and swim the seven seas.

Money raised will go to Alzheimer's Research UK.

Mr Alexander is no stranger to challenging adventures, having already rowed the English Channel and swam from Europe to Asia in 2022, and completed seven marathons on all seven continents in 2023.

He said he was inspired to take on his latest attempt for his grandfather as he wants to try to "retrace his steps a little bit".

Mr Alexander added Captain Rick Taylor, who worked for the United Nations and served in the British Army for 38 years and died in 2019 with dementia, has always been at the heart of his adventures.

When he was 19, he made a promise to his grandfather that he would find a cure for dementia, and he said the pledge remained a key part of his goals.

Mr Alexander said Capt Taylor was "fascinated by" Egypt but never got to go "because of his early diagnosis"

During his previous running challenge, Mr Alexander even carried a letter calling on government to invest £16m in improving dementia diagnostics - which the Prime Minister replied to last week.

This time, Mr Alexander is aiming to swim 10km distances in each of the "classical Seven Seas", starting with the Red Sea in Egypt on 3 June.

"One of the places he was truly fascinated by but never got the opportunity to go to because of his early diagnosis was Egypt, so that's where I'm going to be starting out," Mr Alexander explained.

He will then make his way across the Arabian Sea in Oman, the Aegean Sea in Greece, the Adriatic Sea in Italy, the Black Sea in Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, before taking on the final swim in the North Sea in Dover in mid-July.

Other locations with sentimental connections include Oman, where Capt Taylor spent time when he was in the military.

Mr Alexander took the letter he carried on his previous running challenge to 10 Downing Street

Mr Alexander will have a support team and said among the obstacles he is set to face may be swimming alongside sharks in the Red Sea, and combating temperatures of up to 40C (104F) and beyond in Egypt and Oman.

He has been preparing for "every eventuality" by carrying out practice swims a few times a week, and focusing on being as injury resistant as possible but said: "It's tough for anyone to swim for up to five hours non-stop potentially, let alone in the heat - let alone as a red head."

"It's about survival in these different seas and weather, and getting the marathons done and continuing to spread awareness for dementia and the fight for a cure, to honour my grandfather."

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