The Longest Round: Darren Barker completes gruelling charity challenge on anniversary of Ricky Hatton’s passing

Darren Barker sails to Morocco to complete The Longest Round on anniversary of Ricky Hatton’s passing 

Former world champion raises more than £47,000 for suicide prevention charity CALM

Darren Barker has completed The Longest Round after sailing the Strait of Gibraltar all on his own, exactly one year after the death of his friend Ricky Hatton.

The former IBF world middleweight champion’s challenge has raised more than £47,000 for Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), for which Hatton was a long-standing ambassador.

His journey from Edinburgh included 1,800 miles of cycling through the UK, France and Spain, and 21 miles of open-water swimming off Dover, before the final sailing leg.

Barker sailed from Gibraltar to Ceuta on his own on Monday after just one day’s training with the help of sponsor Pretty Sailing, before cycling the last few miles into Morocco.

Barker said: “To cross the finish line today, exactly a year since we lost Ricky, was meant to be. I've done this all for Ricky and he's been in my thoughts every step of the way.

“I’ve cycled 1,800 miles, swam 21 miles and sailed to Morocco, but that’s nothing compared to the strength it takes to look someone in the eye, or pick up the phone and say, ‘I’m not OK. I need help.’

“That’s the hard part, and we can’t ignore the fact that around three in four people who die by suicide in the UK are men. We need to make it easier for everyone, particularly men, to have that conversation and know they’ll be heard.

“We’ve raised over £47,000 so far, which could fund the equivalent of more than 3,800 potentially life-saving calls to CALM. That means more to me than any distance I’ve covered. This challenge is over, but the conversation must carry on.”

Donations remain open through The Longest Round’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/thelongestround

The Longest Round was supported by Just Eat, Pretty Sailing, Certini and kp-pharma, with Press Box PR acting as media partner.