THIS year’s Monmouth Challenge Aquathon will welcome a very special guest.

Paralympian Andy Lewis MBE, will blow the starting whistle at the 2nd July event, which will see athletes from across the county and surrounding areas swim distances of one or two kilometres of the River Wye, followed by a 12.5 kilometre cross country run.

The gold medal-winning paratriathlete, who recently won gold at the Yokohama World ITU World Paratriathlon series, will oversee the racers kick off on the Monmouth start line.

After Andy was inspired to begin his Paralympic career by watching the athletes at London 2012, he went on to become British Champion for triathlon and the current European and world champion; as well as the small matter of becoming a Paralympic gold medalist in Rio 2016.

This year, a donation from the proceeds of the race will be going to Home-Start Monmouthshire.

Severn Area Rescue Association, (SARA) will again be providing safety cover.