A Family First: Mum and Daughter Share Swim Serpentine Experience

Mum, Lina and daughter, Zara, at Swim Serpentine 2025

This weekend, Cycle Sisters member Lina and her 14-year-old daughter, Zara, took on one of London’s most iconic challenges – Swim Serpentine. It was their first ever open water event and while Lina was feeling nervous, Zara, a confident swimmer, couldn’t wait.

“Zara’s like, I’m so ready… she’s not even giving it a real thought. She’s just gonna rock up, do it, and then that’ll be it,” Lina laughed before the event. “Honestly, she’s just gonna go, do it and probably finish in a quarter of the time that I finish, leave me behind.”

For many women in our Cycle Sisters community, events like Swim Serpentine mark the next step in their swimming journeys through our Tri Sisters project. The project gives women the opportunity to try sports beyond cycling and take on new challenges such as swimming, running and triathlon.

Zara has been swimming since she was a toddler. “All three of my kids have, since they were about two years old,” says Lina, while she admits, “I’m so rubbish at swimming. My technique is awful.” Preparing for Swim Serpentine became a family project: “My 12-year-old is my trainer. She’s been taking me to the pool, giving me some techniques. My oldest child is 18 and he’s going to come and support me on the day too.”

The inspiration to take part came from the Cycle Sisters community. “One of the sisters that did it last year said it was so amazing. She encouraged me to do it. It took a bit of umming and ahhing… and then finally when the sign up message was sent in the Cycle Sisters Whatsapp group, I was like, okay, I’m just gonna do it,” explains Lina.

For Lina, taking part together was about more than the distance: “If I didn’t do it with my daughter, I probably wouldn’t be doing it. A big part of this is just the quality time I’m spending with her. I want to desperately create memories with my children… these are the kind of memories I want them to take into their old age.”

She also hopes the experience will inspire Zara to keep sport in her life: “More than anything, I want her to carry on with sport for the whole of her life. I am still conscious about how many girls, especially, give up sport when they become teenagers."

Taking part as Muslim women in such a high-profile event also felt significant for Lina. “It’s representation, isn’t it? It’s showing that it doesn’t matter what religion you are… these events are for everybody. You’re never going to feel totally confident, but you’ve got that support, whether it’s family or the wider community. You just have to accept it and go – just go for it.”

For Lina, Swim Serpentine has been about looking after herself too “When you're a working mom, you just forget about yourself, really. I realised I've kind of been neglecting myself. So now I need to start going back to what makes me happy. Even in the house, everyone's realised since I've got like a focus, since I do more exercise, they've all noticed that I'm a bit of a better person. Not so shouty,” she says with a smile.

It’s clear this won’t be the last adventure the family takes on together. When asked if she saw this as the start of more adventures together she replied firmly: 

“Oh, one hundred percent. Honestly, one hundred percent. I want to do a triathlon, and I think next year is where I'm thinking I might do it. I'm gonna be 50 next year. So I just thought that it would be quite cool to be 50 and do your first triathlon.”

On race day we caught up with Lina following her swim and she was elated: 

“I survived!!! It was great, hard but great. I finished in 36 minutes, and Zara left me way behind and finished in 23 mins. It was a lovely day, and I shall wear my medal for the rest of the day with pride.”

Congratulations Zara and Lina and to all of the women in our community who took on Swim Serpentine. We hope you all wore your medals with pride too! You deserve it!

We’d like to thank our partners for supporting this journey: London Marathon Events, London Marathon Foundation, London Borough of Hounslow Swim Club, Love to Swim, Be Endurance and Dawn Hunter. With their support, more Muslim women are stepping up to challenges like Swim Serpentine, showing that these spaces are for everyone.