Napier’s Bill Knobloch’s freestyle mission accomplished - 744%

Bill Knobloch during one of his days knocking his goals out of the water in the Coastguard Big Swim fundraiser. Photo / Warren Buckland.

Not all New Zealand swimmers are knocking out personal bests at the moment, but one who is is 82-year-old Bill Knobloch who’s knocking his goals right out of the water.

Bill Knobloch during one of his days knocking his goals out of the water in the Coastguard Big Swim fundraiser. Photo / Warren Buckland.

His targets for the nationwide fundraiser Coastguard Big Swim during July were to swim 20km, an average of about 1.5km or 60 lengths at Ocean Spa a day, with a fundraising goal of $350.

But he swam 34km by the time he had to pull the plug after day 22 because he had “caught a cold”, and, thanks to fellow residents of the Knightsbridge Masonic Village, where he lives, and those who caught up with him on his daily routine, the pool has hit $2605 – “744%” of the target, and number eight nationwide on the list of individuals undertaking the challenge, according to the Coastguard Big Swim website.

A former Pacific Surf Life Saving Club member, who can’t run for exercise because of the leg injuries he received in a car crash 46 years ago, he had been confident early on that he would get the distance, telling Hawke’s Bay Today a week into the mission the body was going okay and he thought he’d end up doing about 30km in the month.

Now, getting over the cold and hoping to be back in the swim by Sunday or Monday, he says he thought he’d struggle to keep up the daily target, but the statistics show he averaged over 1.5km a day.

He concedes he had “no idea” how much he would raise in donations, but he’s “amazed” by the support that was generated, and notes the page is still open for more contributions.

“The support here [at Knightsbridge, where he’s lived for 15 years] has been amazing,” he said. “And people would come up when I was having a coffee after swimming each day, mention it, and donate. The support is unbelievable.”

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.