A local father has funded 200 heart screenings with his Atlantic row, with more of the life-saving tests to follow.

Andrew Osborne raised £170,000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) by completing a solo row in memory of his daughter, Amy.

In march, the 57-year-old businessman from Rutland, completed his unsupported row across the Atlantic in honour of his late daughter, Amy, who died aged 25 from an undiagnosed heart condition. 

The charity offers lifesaving screenings to 30,000 young people aged 35 and under per year – the funds raised by the campaign will pay for 3,000 of these tests, which equals one test for every mile rowed by Andrew.

Andrew Osborne from Rutland has raised a huge sum for CRY. Image credit: Nub News.

Setting off from Gran Canaria on 8 January 2023, just a few days shy of the sixth anniversary of Amy's death on 14 January 2017, Andrew rowed tirelessly for 78 days before finally arriving in Antigua 3,000 miles and 1.5 million oar strokes later.

Andrew decided to take on this gruelling challenge in memory of his daughter, Amy, who shared her father's love for water and sea, but passed away suddenly from an undiagnosed, asymptomatic heart condition. Each week in the UK, 12 seemingly healthy young people die from similar undetected heart defects, with four-fifths (80%) of them never exhibiting or feeling any symptoms. 

Andrew's goal was to raise the funds and awareness needed to put a stop to these staggering numbers and prevent others from losing their young, loved ones in the same way. His original fundraising target was £100,000, which he surpassed by over £70,000.

The funds will go towards more than 3,000 lifesaving heart screenings for under-35s.

Andrew training on Rutland Water before his row. Image credit: Andrew Osborne / MHR.

Andrew Osborne said: "Despite the challenge, each painstaking mile has been worth it, and it is the most humbling and rewarding feeling to know that every pull on the oars will give at least one young person the chance to receive lifesaving tests and be spared from experiencing the same tragic fate as Amy did. It is the honour and privilege of a lifetime to be able to raise this support and awareness, in memory of Amy.

"It has been a challenge of a lifetime, and the moral support from those tracking my journey has been pivotal. The generous donations of everyone both personal and sponsored has given me the strength and determination to forge on, in the moments when I felt like I no longer could."

Dr Steven Cox, Chief Executive of CRY said: "We'd like to congratulate Andrew Osbourne on this amazing feat of crossing the Atlantic We are privileged to continuously receive inspiring support from families such as Amy's who sadly know all too well the pain of losing a loved one at a young age to sudden cardiac death.

"The amount of sudden but preventable deaths that undiagnosed heart conditions are causing among young people is exactly why CRY believes screening is so crucial. We strongly believe the government approach to specialist cardiac screening needs an overhaul and we are committed to continue campaigning for this change. 

"CRY's mission is to give every young person the opportunity to have their heart tested. Since we don't receive any government funding, it is only through the generous support of various communities throughout the UK that we are able to provide our free, UK-wide screening programme to the public."

Andrew trained for his recent row on Rutland Water. Image credit: MHR / Andrew Osborne.

Andrew's incredibly success, and the generosity of sponsors including MHR, Charles Thyrwhitt and many members of the general public, 200 screenings have already taken place, with thousands more to follow.

Following Andrew's incredible success, he has been nominated for Endurance Fundraiser of the Year at the JustGiving Awards 2023.

People can vote for Andrew online. To place your vote, click on his profile, then scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your email address.

Congratulations Andrew!

Let us know if you have any fundraising events or good new stories to share by emailing [email protected]. 

We look forward to hearing from you.