As part of his graduation project for the Fachhochschule Dortmund, Miguel Temme (@miguel_temme) directed and produced a documentary film about Nikki Pope (England, 57, MSF bio here, IISA bio here).
Pope shares her inspirational lifestyle and perspectives in OPEN WATER.
Between 2018 and 2020, she completed six Ice Miles including three in the UK and one each in Canada, Morocco, and Norway.
Her first Ice Mile was performed in 3.5°C water and 1.8°C air. She recalls, “After 3/4 of a mile, I was so frozen I could not function properly and started to sink. I decided to swim for a count of 10 to get myself back in the swim. I got to 7, then stopped. I didn’t want to fail so I started again. I got to a count of 5. No good – nothing left in the tank. Somehow I started again. I got to a count of 3…there seemed no way I could get to the finish until I simplified the task. Then I counted 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 until the finish – and bagged a UK record for the most extreme ice mile and realized I had the determination to complete the English Channel.”
In 2019, her one-way 18 hour 22 minute crossing from England to France was selected as the Greatest Feat of Endurance by the Channel Swimming Association. She has since gone on to complete crossings of the Catalina Channel in September 2019 in 20 hours 18 minutes, Robben Island in December 2019 in 4 hours 17 minutes, 20 Bridges around Manhattan Island in September 2022 in 8 hours 40 minutes, North Channel in September 2023 in 19 hours 54 minutes, and the Strait of Gibraltar in April 2024 in 4 hours 43 minutes.
It is that determination that Temme captures in OPEN WATER. Temme writes, “Nikki has found her long undiscovered inner strength and now wants to pass on this experience to children with various disabilities by preparing them for a relay crossing of the English Channel.“
Watch the 24-minute documentary film above.
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A wonderful family who contribute so much to the community. Nikki’s numerous achievements provide the inspiration for younger swimmers to follow in her footsteps. Working with Beech Hall School in Macclesfield, Nikki and Cate give up so much time to provide coaching, organisation and the benefit of experience to help younger swimmers accomplish their goals. The end result is life changing experiences and a huge amount of money raised for Mencap. Well done guys!