Athlete, 22, will try to swim from Europe to Asia in memory of his grandfather

A fundraiser will try to emulate Lord Byron by swimming from Europe to Asia.

Louis Alexander, 22, from London, has dedicated his life to raising money for dementia research after his grandfather died after a 17-year-long fight against the disease.

Now, the multi-sport athlete will take on what is said to be the oldest swimming challenge in the world, crossing the Hellespont, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Romantic poet Lord Byron famously swam the strait between the continents in north-west Turkey in 1810 in homage to the Greek classical myth of Hero and Leander.

Mr Alexander told the PA news agency: “It’s considered by many to be the epitome of ocean swimming because it’s the oldest swim in history.

“What’s even more special is that Lord Byron was 22 years old when he did the swim, which is the same age I will be during the swim.”

Mr Alexander decided last year to dedicate his life to raising money for charity via such challenges, turning him into a full-time adventurer.

He said it would be “quite special” for him to complete the four-and-a-half kilometre swim (2.8 miles), as Lord Byron did more than 200 years before him.

He said: “What an incredible feat that was, way before they had sort of safety boats and full support teams and spent months of preparation and didn’t sort of train and things like that. It’s amazing.”

On Tuesday, the busy shipping lane will be shut for two hours during Turkish Victory Day and to honour the birth of ocean swimming, with athletes from across the world taking part.

Mr Alexander signed up to cross the Hellespont before the pandemic.

He said: “I’m so excited I finally get to do it. It’s literally one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, which is epic, and they close it for just two hours.

“So if you don’t make it over in two hours, the safety boats will come up and pick you up, because once those shipping containers and vessels start again, you can’t stop them and you can’t go around them.

“I’m confident I’ll make it in the two hours. I’ve been preparing hard and I’m in a good place, as are my body and mind. I’m ready for it.”

Mr Alexander has completed three fundraising challenges this year, including running 17 marathons in 17 days.

So far, the adventurer has raised more than £25,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

He said: “I’ll be swimming for them and in honour of my grandfather, who was an adventurer and explorer himself, who sadly lost his life to dementia.

“Grandpa, he served in the British Army for 38 years and he had been all over the world. He was very much an adventurer and explorer in his own right.”

For the swim, Mr Alexander is accompanied by Ben Schrevel, 28, who also lost his grandfather to dementia.

It is their first swimming challenge.

For his next challenges, Mr Alexander plans to climb the highest mountain in northern Africa and run from London to Paris.

He said: “At my grandad’s funeral, I promised I would fight for a cure and only stop when we found it.”