Roger Allsopp, the Guinness World Record Holder for the oldest person to swim the Channel, founder of Hope for Guernsey and charity fund raiser extraordinaire was named Guiton Group Ambassador of the Year 2011 at the Guernsey Awards for Achievement Gala Evening held at Beau Sejour, St. Peter Port, Guernsey on Thursday 9 February 2012.
30th August 2011 was the day that local Guernsey man and retired breast cancer surgeon, Roger Allsopp created a new Guinness World Record when he became the oldest man to swim the English Channel at the age of 70 years and 115 days.
His achievement, made even more inspiring by the fact that it was the second time that Roger had completed the infamous Channel swim, was covered comprehensively by local media, UK media and much further afield including Thailand and Australia. His swimming feats are what have recently propelled Roger to the top of local, regional and international media headlines, but it is his tireless work and commitment to Hope For Guernsey and Wessex Medical Research that provides the real motivation in his life. The objective of Roger’s 2011 Channel swim was to raise £750,000 to buy a mass spectrometer for Southampton University that will help with early diagnosis of cancer.