Karim Zeroual revealed for Sport Relief: On Thin Ice

6th February 2020

 Four days. 100 Miles. A triathlon with a twist.

A team of brave celebrities will take on this extreme challenge on foot, by bike and on skates for Sport Relief 2020 to raise life-changing funds. 

  • Karim Zeroual is announced for Sport Relief: On Thin Ice

  • A team of celebs will take on a 100-mile triathlon on ice across a frozen lake in Mongolia

  • The action will be filmed for a BBC One documentary, set to air the week of Sport Relief, which is back on Friday 13th March

Thursday 6 February: Sport Relief has today announced that Karim Zeroual is joining the celebrity team that will be taking on a 100-mile triathlon across a frozen lake in Mongolia, to raise life-changing cash and tackle mental health stigma. 

Karim joins Nick Grimshaw, Frankie Bridge, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Louise Minchin, Rob Rinder and Samantha Womack.

Dr Zoe Williams, who has been offering training support to the celebrities over the past couple of months, will also be joining the expedition team on the ground to offer medical advice and help keep the public up to date on how the extreme elements will affect them all.

Karim said: “I’m a yes man and I love taking on challenges and being able to support people. Mental health problems can affect all ages and all genders. I struggled with it growing up. Your mental health needs to be just as strong as your physical health. I can’t express how much I despise the cold, and I know I have a shock coming to me but we’ve got a great team of celebs going out there. We’re going do our absolute level best to help raise money for this amazing charity that I’m honoured and humbled to be involved with. I’m sure our strength will keep us going.”

The team of celebrities will be trekking, skating and cycling almost a marathon a day across the ice of Lake Khovsgol in freezing temperatures dropping as low as -35 degrees Celsius. All of the action will be filmed for a BBC One documentary which will air the week of Sport Relief, which is back on Friday 13th March.

Sport Relief: On Thin Ice will raise money to help improve life-changing mental health services and support many other projects tackling issues such as domestic abuse, homelessness and child poverty, both in the UK and around the world. 

Globally, one in four people* will be affected by a mental health problem at some point in their lives, and each of these adventurers feels passionate about speaking out to help break the stigma surrounding the issue.

Karim Zeroual: “After such an incredible time on Strictly, I’m raring for the next challenge – though I’m not sure I’ll be as graceful on ice skates! The idea of crossing a 100-mile frozen lake sounds pretty daunting right now, but I know that we’ll be raising vital funds for Sport Relief and changing lives all over the UK and internationally. I’ve grown up watching Comic Relief and I feel privileged to be taking on this challenge.”

 

Money raised for Sport Relief will support people living incredibly tough lives in the UK and around the world. Find out how you can get involved here.(opens in new window)