Main content

I created a mass Marilyn Monroe swim for my mother

Sarah Tinney started one of Australia’s biggest open-water swims as a way of dealing with grief. All of the swimmers dress up as Marilyn Monroe, her mother’s favourite film star.

In 2013, Sarah Tinney agreed to do a charity swim dressed as Marilyn Monroe. But as the only one in fancy dress, she panicked and tried to rope in others. The swim was a tribute to her mother, a Marilyn Monroe movie devotee, who’d died of cancer. And over the years, what started as a a ragtag group of swimmers in southern Australia transformed into a world record-breaking event, raising almost a million dollars for cancer research. (This interview was first broadcast in April 2022)

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Maryam Maruf

(Picture: Sarah Tinney at the Marilyn Jetty Swim. Photo credit: Courtesy of Cancer Council SA.)

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Nov 2022 22:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sun 27 Nov 2022 00:32GMT
  • Sun 27 Nov 2022 09:32GMT
  • Sun 27 Nov 2022 22:32GMT

Contact Outlook

Contact Outlook

Info on how we might use your contribution on air

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected