Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio is a Canadian retired long distance swimmer. She was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario and later swam the English Channel and Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Among other nicknames, the press sometimes called her "Queen of the Waves."
Florence May Chadwick was an American swimmer known for long-distance open water swimming. She was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, setting a time record each time. She was also the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Bosporus, and the Dardanelles.
Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Mihir Sen was a famous long distance swimmer & a national hero of India, considered to be one of the most prominent youth icons of his generation. He was best known for being the first Indian to conquer the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958 in the fourth fastest time and the only man to earn the distinction of swimming the Oceans of the 5 continents in one calendar year (1966). These included the Palk Strait, Dardanelles, Bosphorus, Gibraltar Strait and the entire length of Panama Canal. This unique achievement earned him a place in The Guinness Book of Records as the "world's greatest long distance swimmer".
Brojen Das was a Bengali swimmer, who was the first Asian to swim across the English Channel, and the first person to cross it six times.
David Meca Medina is a long distance swimmer from Spain, who has swum from mainland Spain to Ibiza among his exploits. He won gold at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal for the men's open water 25 km.
The Enduroman Arch to Arc Triathlon is an ultra-distance triathlon. The triathlon starts with an 87-mile run (140 km) from London's Marble Arch to Dover on the Kent coast, then a cross-Channel swim to the French coast, and finishes with a 180-mile (289.7 km) bike ride from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Tom Blower (1914–1955) was a British man who on 27–28 July 1947 became the first to successfully swim the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, completing the feat in 15 hours and 26 minutes. In spite of multiple attempts by others, the North Channel would not be successfully crossed by a swimmer again until 12 September 1970, when it was accomplished by Kevin Murphy. Blower also swam the English Channel several times, with a personal best speed of 13 hours and 29 minutes in 1937 that set a new record, shaving the previous best by 23 minutes.
Competitive swimming in Britain started around 1830, mostly using breaststroke. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed.
Rose Pitonof Weene was a marathon swimmer from Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Alexander Meyer is a former American competition swimmer who specialized in open water and long-distance swimming. He won a gold medal at the 2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in the 25-kilometer open water event. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and placed tenth in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Alex won his final race before retirement, the 62nd Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean held on July 30, 2016.
Henry Sullivan was an American marathon swimmer who is best known for becoming the third person and the first American to swim across the English Channel, beginning his swim on the afternoon of August 5, 1923, from Dover, England and finishing 27 hours and 25 minutes later on the evening of August 6 at Calais, France.
Amelia "Mille" Gade Corson was a Danish-born American long-distance swimmer who is best known as becoming the seventh person, third American and second woman to successfully swim across the English Channel. Earlier, Corson had completed the swim around Manhattan Island, a distance of 42 miles, and had also completed the swim from Albany, New York to New York City, swimming the distance in a total of 5 days, 3 hours and 11.5 minutes. The straight-line distance between the two points is 143 miles, but Corson swam an extra 10 miles due to various detours.
Philippe Croizon is a French athlete and the first quadruple amputee to swim across the English Channel.
Horace Davenport was an English swimmer, known for endurance swims. In 1881, he also swam the Niagara River below Niagara Falls.
Bhakti Sharma is an Indian Open water swimmer.
John Van Wisse born during 1972 or 1973 is a veteran Australian swimmer and swim coach. He has been swimming since at least the 1990s. Van Wisse set a record when he ran, swam and cycled from London to Paris.
Ross Edgley is an adventurer and author best known for becoming the first person in history to swim all the way around Great Britain. After 2,000 miles and 157 days the World Open Water Swimming Association announced it as the World Swim of the Year 2018 and it became officially recognised as "The World's Longest Staged Sea Swim."
