Hector Pardoe Named Athlete Of The Year At BBC Green Sport Awards
Two-time Olympian Hector Pardoe has been named Athlete of the Year at the 2025 BBC Green Sport Awards after raising funds for a marine conservation charity following an historic open water challenge.
Pardoe, who won 10k bronze at the Doha World Championships in 2024, completed a world first in August when he took part in the Three Lakes Challenge where he became the first person to swim Britain’s three largest lakes back to back in less than 24 hours. The 24-year-old fulfilled his objective by swimming more than 34.5miles in 12 hours 15 minutes.
Hector Pardoe: Photo Courtesy: Hector Pardoe
He raised funds for Surfers Against Sewage while further focusing awareness of water pollution with a self-funded YouTube documentary “King of the Lakes,” which was watched by over half a million people.
Pardoe beat off stiff competition from other nominees including Fran Kirby (Brighton and England footballer) and Hannah Mills (two-time Olympic sailing gold medallist).
It followed his feat in 2023 where he became the fastest man to have swum the 10.5-mile (16.8km) length of Lake Windermere in north-west England while also raising money to improve water quality.
Pardoe said: “I’m really overwhelmed to have been nominated let alone to have won this 2025 BBC Green Sport Award for Athlete of the Year. It’s been a great year for promoting the environment and the issues related to pollution through a number of iconic swims.
“At times I knew that I had to push through my pain, cold and hunger to further hi-light this issue. For me it’s all about national pride and it’s great that I seem to have inspired a lot of people with my self-funded YouTube ‘King of the Lakes’ documentary which has already been viewed by more than 500,000 people within the first two weeks of release. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout all of my endeavours and to all who voted for me to attain this award. We need to keep fighting for less polluted waters”.