Australian International Swimming Hall of Fame member Chloe McCardel completed her 44th crossing of the English Channel on Wednesday, setting a new record for most crossings of the 21 mile-long channel.
She completed the swim in 10 hours and one minute. McCardel tied the previous record, owned by Britain’s Allison Streeter, with her 43rd crossing a week prior; that swim took 10 hours and 54 minutes.
According to the BBC, in the several days leading up to the record-breaking swim, McCardel was dealing with “breathing difficulties caused by a chest infection.”
“It’s been a really tough journey, but I’ve persisted,” McCardel said, adding that the conditions on Wednesday were favorable. “So many people helped along the way to make my dreams come true and hopefully I can inspire the next generation of open water swimmers and young people to go after their dreams.”
The 36-year-old McCardel also holds the record for the longest unassisted solo marathon swim at 124 kilometers (about 77 miles), which she swam in the Bahamas in 2014. Her first English Channe crossing was in 2009, and the most English Channel single swims she competed in one year was eight in 2016. She’s also completed a triple-crossing of the Channel in one outing, which entailed swimming 63 miles without stopping.
I feel like every time I check Swimswam there’s another article about Chloe McCardel crossing the channel – What a remarkable woman.