Tribute To Mark Rickhuss

With a heavy heart I must say that a very dear friend of mine has passed away too early.

My good friend Mark Rickhuss passed away doing what he loved best... swimming in the English Channel.

So, Cheers to the "London Broil" we will have a pint of the black stuff and Banks' Mild again some day... Cheers and all the best Mark.... "Remember what makes you bad, makes you better"

Swimmer Dies 'Doing What He Loved Most'

Tributes have been paid to a cross-channel swimmer who died doing what he loved most.
Former Warwick School sports centre and pool manager Mark Rickhuss died last week aged just 41.

Mr Rickhuss was helping another swimmer finish the cross-channel challenge - something he himself achieved six-years ago - when he suffered a heart attack, just off the coast of France.

Friend Bob Lord, from Coventry, who had known Mr Rickhuss for the past 13 years, said: "I remember about three years ago we were doing a training swim and Mark had to stop, it was most unlike him.

"I asked him if he was okay because it was so unusual for him to stop and he said he had the most terrible pain in his chest. It was shortly after that he was diagnosed as having angina."

When Mr Rickhuss completed the channel challenge in 1999 - which he did in nine hours 18 minutes - he raised money for the British Heart Foundation.
His father, John, suffered from heart problems.
But last week Mr Rickhuss's role in the water was a supporting one as he successfully helped Tim Denyer, a former Warwick School pupil, complete the challenge.
It is considered to be one of the toughest in swimming.

Mr Lord added: "The last couple of miles are the hardest because the tide picks up near France. Mark dived in, with a whistle in his mouth, to find the shortest possible route to shore so the other swimmer could follow him in.

"They both made it, but on pulling himself back into the boat from the water Mark suffered a heart attack. He died doing something he loved doing."

Mr Rickhuss moved away from the area three years ago - to South Devon with his wife and children - but will be remembered in the town as being a pivotal cog in the formation of the Warwick Town Water Polo Club and for his association with the sports centre.

Warwick School spokesman Brian Emerson, who used to work with Mr Rickhuss, said: "He was a great bloke, a really nice guy and very charismatic.

"It was very, very sad to hear the news. He was a fantastic swimmer, that was always his forte.
"But I remember him saying he used to suffer from acute chest pains and pins and needles just before he left here."

School bursar Nigel Stock added: "From a personal point of view I would sum him up by saying he was a very big man with a big heart and soft centre. He died doing something he loved and it is a very sad loss of a good man."

God Bless to Joanne, George and Aaron, and all of Mark's family and friends, you will always be in my prayers.