The Desert Swimmer

<p>Brendan Cullen manages a 10,000-head sheep station 65 kilometres outside Broken Hill, New South Wales-over 600 kilometres from the nearest beach. Yet in 2022, he swam the English Channel.<br><br> Swimming became part of Brendan's recovery from severe depression that had seen him cope through drinking, overwork, and emotional absence until he sought help at Broken Hill Hospital.<br><br> In 2015, watching his brother compete in open-water swimming sparked something. Despite the exhaustion, it made him feel vitally alive. By 2018, he'd set his sights on the Channel.<br><br> Through Covid restrictions, he trained before dawn in murky Menindee Lake and icy local waters. He completed the crossing in 17 hours-64 kilometres after currents dragged him off course.<br><br> <i>The Desert Swimmer</i> shows the good that comes from facing challenges head-on.</p>