Wild Ideas Worth Living · Tuesday, September 1, 2026
After an ankle injury in 2017 made running difficult, Rob Lea decided to pursue swimming the English Channel. This marked a significant shift in his athletic career, pushing him towards open-water challenges and ultimately inspiring the "Double Seven" project.
“I had an ankle injury that I went into the doctor and I kind of knew probably what he was going to say, but I was sitting there and he was kind of reviewing everything, looking at my ankle and he said, "Yeah, we should do surgery on the ankle. And also, like medically speaking, you should really never be a runner or you shouldn't run again."”
“So, literally sitting on the doctor's table there in 2017, I thought, "I need something to look forward to, something to train for." I've been a swimmer my whole life, so I decided I was going to swim the English Channel.”