Woolton Hill 'obese man' completes 6,000-mile row to Tokyo Olympic Stadium
A self-styled 'obese' 63-year-old has rowed the distance to the Tokyo Olympic Stadium from the comfort of his home in Woolton Hill - a feat four years in the making.
In July 2017, Peter Metalli decided to challenge himself by completing the 9.6 million metres on the rowing machine in his home.
He has a background in sports, having competed as a triathlete in the 1980s, but was forced to retire after a back injury, becoming a sports coach and athletics organiser.
Mr Metalli said that he conceived the TokyRow after his daughter took up rowing, and as a means of losing weight.
He said: "I have spent most of my adult life promoting sport in one way or another and was really annoyed when I was watching the boat race coverage one day and heard a comedian crack a bad joke about rowing being a sport for posh people.
"I wanted to prove that if a working-class, middle-aged, morbidly obese man with a bad back and a dodgy knee could also join in with rowing then it was a sport for everyone, and it was not all about 'posh public schoolkids' or supreme athletes."
At the beginning of the challenge four years ago, Mr Metalli weighed 150kg, almost double his weight during his racing days. Unfortunately, his drive to complete the TokyRow in the space of three years was killed by the pandemic.
Mr Metalli added: "People reacted to the games postponement and lock-down in different ways.
"Some thrived on it and did even more training. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect on me.
"My goal of completing the distance in three years was thrown into turmoil, and I pretty much lost interest, with one of the consequences being that I gained all the weight I had lost – and some!"
To help get back on track, Mr Metalli enlisted people from across the world to row the distance 'alongside' him, using social media to keep the public updated on his progress.
Initially, he hoped to bring around 50 other rowers on board, but, by the time he completed the TokyRow last Friday, Mr Metalli had been joined by a grand total of 146 supporters from across Europe and North America.
A Zoom call was set up for the final hour, providing Mr Metalli with the incentive to go the whole way to the finish line.
The Olympiad's delay gave Mr Metalli an extra year to complete his feat, although, including days missed in lockdown and as a result of knee problems, he was still able to finish 44 days ahead of schedule.
In fact, due to calculating errors, the rower realised he had actually gone 696m over his target distance too.
Mr Metalli reports a remarkable turnaround for his health as a result of the TokyRow, having cured his asthma and mitigated long-standing back and knee issues.
In addition, his blood pressure, previously classed as 'pre-diabetic', is now 'ideal', and he is no longer regarded as morbidly obese by doctors.
While the Woolton Hill champion has other ideas for future athletic endeavours, including a break into outdoor swimming, he says that he is preoccupied with simply enjoying the Olympic Games on TV.