Merv makes a splash

10:23am Saturday 7th April 2007

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KING of the Channel' Mervyn Sharp is to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

The 57-year-old from Weymouth is to be honoured by his peers at a special ceremony in Florida.

He will join legendary swimmers including Mark Spitz and Johnny Weissmuller as an inductee of the prestigious hall.

Mervyn was crowned King of the Channel after swimming between England and France seven times. He then went on to work at Weymouth Swimming Pool for 25 years until retiring in 1999.

He said he felt honoured by the accolade. "To be put among some of the most magnificent swimmers in history is a very special and very humbling honour," he said.

"I feel proud of what I did many years ago andfor me it is the highest honour I can think of."

Mervyn, of Coronation Crescent, will travel to Fort Lauderdale in May to be formally received into the hall.

He will be accompanied by his wife of 25 years, Rose.

He said: "When I last swam the Channel in 1974 somebody told me about the hall of fame but I never heard anything from them.

"Then around 12 months ago I found out that my name had been put forward.

"The next thing I know I received a letter through the post telling me the selection committee had chosen me."

Mervyn will be inducted into the marathon swimmers' section of the Hall of Fame.

A letter from Kevin Murphy, chairman of the IMSHOF selection committee, says: Your name, along with more than 175 of the world's greatest achievers in marathon swimming, will be permanently inscribed on the Sea Goddess, the official trophy of the IMSHOF.

Great swimmers deserve recognition and we are very pleased to induct you into the Hall of Fame.' Mervyn, whose achievements landed him a place in the Guinness Book of Records, said his only regret is that his parents are not alive to see him honoured.

"My father wasn't much of a swimmer and my mother couldn't swim at all - I must have been the black sheep of the family," he said.

"But they were the best back-up team I could have wished for. All I know is that I can't think of anything higher I could have achieved for them and my family."