Leighton has been swimming for over twenty years and has represented his County, University, and two UK masters teams at numerous meets,competitions and open water swims. He relishes cold water conditions and open water challenges, and is diligent in providing a fun yet committed sense of enjoyment to each of the swimming teams he has been a part of. His key highlights include: - Captaining the Oxford University English Channel Swim Relay in 2004, where the he and team successfully completed the crossing in a time of 9 hours 23 minutes starting during the night; - Organising and swimming in the Oxford University Round Gibraltar swim(9 miles) against an international side in choppy, port water; - Developing national and international relations with other clubs in the UK and abroad, including London, Birmingham and Leeds Universities in the UK; Trinity College and University College in Dublin; the Gibraltar National Team; and a Harvard Alumni Team. Each of the UK and Irish teams have hosted and provided international competition for the club; - Being a founding member of the UK English Channel Swimming Poseidon Club, which acts as a source of knowledge and funding for future channel swim participants; and - Acting as social secretary for two universities, as well as participating and organising numerous social events after successful swims.