Tom Gregory (swimmer)

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Tom Gregory
Personal information
Born1976 (age 4849)
Eltham, Greater London, Great Britain
Sport
Sport Swimming

Thomas Gregory (born 9th October 1976) swam the English Channel in 1988 at the age of 11 years and 333 days. As of 2025 he still holds the record as the youngest person to have done so. [1]

No one will take the record from him because the Channel Swimming Association has since set an age limit of 16 years for officially recognised crossings. [2] The age limit was introduced in November 2000.[ citation needed ]

Gregory's coming-of-age story about being the youngest person to swim the Channel, A Boy in the Water (2018, Penguin: ISBN   9780241354124) was joint winner of the 2018 William Hill Sports Book of the Year. [3] It was BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in August 2018. [4] He served in the Royal Anglian Regiment of the British Army. [5] [6]

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References

  1. "Thomas Gregory 1988". Channel Swimming Association. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. "FAQs:What do I have to do to ensure swim is officially recognised?". Channel Swimming Association. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  3. Ingle, Sean (27 November 2018). "William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize shared for first time in 30 years". The Guardian . Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  4. "Book of the Week: A Boy in the Water". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. Geere, Verity (28 August 2018). "How I Swam The Channel Aged 11; And How It Shaped My Military Life". Story (Interview). No. 1. BFBS. Forces Network. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  6. Russell, Steve (3 September 2018). "When an 11-year-old could try to swim the English Channel; and triumph". Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.