List of successful English Channel swimmers

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

This is a list of notable successful swims across the English Channel,{{cite web|url=http://soloswims.com/CSA-E-F.htm#1955 |title=Listing of Successful Swims |accessdate=12 August 2009 |publisher=Solo swims }} a straight-line distance of at least {{convert|18.2|nmi|mi km}}.{{cite web |title=Channel Navigation |url=https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim-advice/channel-navigation |website=www.channelswimmingassociation.com |publisher=Channel Swimming Association |access-date=13 June 2024 |language=en}}

File:ISS054-E-53958 (Strait of Dover).jpg

File:Ted Heaton channel swim 1910.jpg (in water) being fed by assistants during his 1910 swim]]

File:Dover, Channel Swimmer's Monument - geograph.org.uk - 2206838.jpg

First attempts

= First unaided attempt, by J. B. Johnson =

The first attempt to cross the channel with no artificial aid was made by the 23 year old J. B. Johnson on 30 August 1872.{{Cite news |date=2019-08-27 |title=English Channel: The history of swimming the Channel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49483420 |access-date=2024-09-06 |work=BBC Newsround |language=en-GB}} Johnson hired a brass band in Dover to promote his attempt and entertained the crowd for three hours at Dover before diving in and starting his swim.{{Sfn|Watson|2001|pp=54-55}}

Johnson swam for 45 minutes before having a quick break to down some brandy. He then continued until he had swum for 1 hour before having another break to drink more brandy. After 1 hour and 20 minutes, Johnson boarded the boat because the cold water was too much for him to manage.{{Sfn|Watson|2001|p=55}} Despite this, the boat continued on to Calais, where Johnson jumped off the boat and swam to shore. The crowd waiting for him believed Johnson had swum the channel, and Johnson briefly entertained this idea. However, later he said that he never intended to swim the whole channel, and that it was all a stunt for publicity.{{Sfn|Watson|2001|p=55}}

= First successful crossing, by Paul Boyton =

The first successful attempt was by Paul Boyton, wearing a rubber survival suit designed for passengers of sinking ships. On 28 May 1875, on his second attempt, he entered the water at Cap Gris-Nez at 03:00, accompanied by the Prince Ernest and captained by Edward Dane.{{Sfn|Dolphin|1875|pp=43-45}} By 06:00, Boyton was 5 miles from the French coast, and at 11:45, he was halfway.{{Sfn|Dolphin|1875|p=47-49}} At 18:30, Boyton was 4 miles from Dover, and by 02:30, he had landed at Fan Bay, near the Port of Dover.{{Sfn|Dolphin|1875|pp=52-55}} He completed the swim in around 23{{Fraction|1|2}} hours.{{Sfn|Dolphin|1875|p=43}} The press began to portray him as a rival of endurance swimmer Matthew Webb.

= First unaided successful crossing, by Matthew Webb =

Matthew Webb made the crossing without the aid of artificial buoyancy. His first attempt ended in failure, but on 25 August 1875, he started from Admiralty Pier in Dover and made the crossing in 21 hours and 45 minutes, despite challenging tides (which delayed him for 5 hours) and a jellyfish sting.{{cite web | author=Dante | title=ISHOF - Captain Matthew Webb (GBR) - 1965 Honor Swimmer | website=International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) | url=http://www.ishof.org/Honorees/65/65cmwebb.html | access-date=2025-06-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716184146/http://www.ishof.org/Honorees/65/65cmwebb.html | archive-date=16 July 2010}}

= Second unaided successful crossing, by Thomas Burgess =

80 failed attempts were made by a variety of people before Thomas William Burgess, on 6 September 1911, became the second person to make the crossing without artificial buoyancy. He crossed from Dover to Cap Gris Nez in 22 hours and 35 minutes at his 16th bid. Burgess ate a hearty meal of ham and eggs before starting his swim. He had trained for only 18 hours beforehand, and his longest practice swim was only {{convert|10|km|0}}.Staff. [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19111011.2.81 "The Channel Swim: Burgess's Perseverance Rewarded After Fifteen failures"], Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12581, 11 October 1911, Page 8. Accessed 5 August 2010.

= Other early crossings =

Henry Sullivan was successful at his seventh attempt, becoming the third person, and the first American, to make the crossing. He entered the water in Dover at 4:20 on Sunday afternoon, 5 August 1923. Choppy waters and capricious tides forced him to swim an estimated {{convert|90|km}}. He reached shore at Calais at 8:05 pm on 6 August, finishing in 27 hours and 45 minutes.{{cite web | title=Henry Sullivan Crossed Channel - United States Swimmer Swam From England to France in 27 Hours 25 Minutes - Seventh Attempt - Third to Accomplish Feat - Capt. Webb and Burgess Other Two | website=The Montreal Gazette (Google News Archive Search) | date=1923-08-07 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SWktAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PYoFAAAAIBAJ&dq=henry-sullivan%20english-channel&pg=6716%2C756686 | access-date=2025-06-13}} Two other swimmers completed the swim that same summer. Enrique Tirabocchi, from Argentina, completed the swim on 13 August, finishing in a record time of 16 hours and 33 minutes and the first person to swim the route starting from France.{{cite web | title=Cuts Webb's Time in Channel Swim; Tirabocchi of Argentina Is the First to Succeed Over the Calais-to-Dover Route. 16 HOURS 33 MINS. IN WATER Second Winner of £1,000 Prize Is Exhausted at Finish -- Toth Quits Near Goal. Cuts Webb's Time in Channel Swim | website=The New York Times | date=1923-08-13 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/13/archives/cuts-webbs-time-in-channel-swim-tirabocchi-of-argentina-is-the.html | access-date=2025-06-13}} American Charles Toth of Boston completed the swim on 9 September 1923, in 16 hours and 40 minutes, two days after the expiration of a £1,000 prize offered by the Daily Sketch for anyone who completed the swim, a prize that both Sullivan and Tirabocchi received from a representative of the Daily Sketch waiting on the shore with a cheque in hand.{{cite web | title=Toth Swims Channel; Misses £1,000 Prize; Boston's Man's Feat Just Two Days Too Late For Reward. | website=The New York Times | date=1923-09-10 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/09/10/archives/toth-swims-channel-misses-u1000-prize-bostons-mans-feat-just-two.html | access-date=2025-06-13}}{{cite web |title=Toth, Charles |url=https://www.channelswimmingdover.org.uk/content/swimmer/toth-charles |website=Channel Swimming Dover |access-date=12 June 2024 |language=en}}

= First crossings by women =

American Gertrude Ederle's successful cross-channel swim began at Gris Nez in France at 07:05 am on 6 August 1926. Her trainer was Burgess.{{Cite news|first= Paul|last= Gallico|title=First Queen of Channel Swimmers |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/465897152.html?dids=465897152:465897152&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+19%2C+1964&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=GERTRUDE+EDERLE%3A+First+Queen+of+Channel+Swimmers&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021221407/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/465897152.html?dids=465897152:465897152&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+19,+1964&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=GERTRUDE+EDERLE:+First+Queen+of+Channel+Swimmers&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 October 2012 |quote=The coach who joined the party abroad was none other than that Thomas Burgess who, 15 years before, had been the second to make the Channel crossing |work=Los Angeles Times |date=19 January 1964 |accessdate=12 August 2009 }} She came ashore at Kingsdown, Kent, England, in a total time of 14 hours and 39 minutes, making her the first woman to complete the crossing and setting the record for the fastest time, breaking the previous mark set by Tirabocchi by almost two hours. A reporter from The New York Times, who had accompanied Ederle's support team on a tugboat, recounted that Ederle was confronted by a British immigration official, who recorded the biographical details of Ederle and the individuals on board the ship, none of whom had been carrying their passports. Ederle was finally allowed to come ashore, after promising that she would report to the authorities the following morning.{{cite web | first=Alec | last=Rutherford | title=Expert's Story of Swim. | website=The New York Times | date=1926-08-07 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/08/07/archives/experts-story-of-swim.html | access-date=2025-06-13}}

L. Walter Lissberger financed the $3,000 in expenses that Amelia Gade Corson and her husband incurred in preparing for the Channel swim. Lissberger made a wager with Lloyd's of London betting that she would succeed in crossing the Channel, and received a payout of $100,000 at odds of 20–1 when she completed her swim.{{cite web | title=Mrs. Corson Self-Trained.; She Has Swum Around Manhattan and From Albany to New York. | website=The New York Times | date=1926-08-29 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/08/29/archives/mrs-corson-selftrained-she-has-swum-around-manhattan-and-from.html | access-date=2025-06-13}} She was one of three swimmers who were trying to make the swim across the Channel at the same time starting at 11:32 at night on 28 August 1926, leaving from Cape Gris Nez. The two men with her failed, Egyptian swimmer Ishak Helmy dropping out after three hours and an English swimmer failing one mile (1.6 km) from Dover's Shakespeare Cliffs.{{cite web | title=Mrs. Carson Starts to Swim Channel; Woman Who Made Albany to New York Record Reported Making Excellent Progress. | website=The New York Times | date=1926-08-28 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/08/28/archives/mrs-carson-starts-to-swim-channel-woman-who-made-albany-to-new-york.html | access-date=2025-06-13}}> With her husband rowing alongside in a dory and providing her with hot chocolate, sugar lumps and crackers, she completed the swim in a time of 15 hours and 29 minutes, one hour longer than the record set by Gertrude Ederle three weeks earlier.{{cite web | title=Sport: First Mother | website=time.com | date=1926-09-06 | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,722456,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131214252/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,722456,00.html | archive-date=2011-01-31 | url-status=dead | access-date=2025-06-13}}

Jackie Cobell had intended to make the crossing by a more direct route in July 2010, but inadvertently set the record for the slowest solo swim, when strong currents forced her to swim a total of {{convert|105|km}} in 28 hours and 44 minutes.{{cite web | title=Channel swimmer sets slowest record | website=BBC News | date=2010-07-27 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-10782301 | access-date=2025-06-13}}

First swims

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:left"

! Direction

! Country of origin

! width=150|Swimmer

! Year

! Time

! class=unsortable|Notes

England to France{{flagu|United Kingdom}}Matthew Webb187521:45First ever unaided crossing; swam from England to France on 25 August 1875.
England to France{{flagu|United Kingdom}}Bill Burgess191122:35Second crossing from England to France on 6 September 1911.
England to France{{flagu|United States}}Henry Sullivan192326:50Third crossing from England to France; first American to swim across the English Channel.
France to England{{flagu|Italy|1861}}
{{flagu|Argentina}}
Enrique Tirabocchi192316:33First crossing from France to England. First Italian/Argentine.
France to England

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Charles Toth

|1923

|16:54

|Fifth crossing.{{Cite news |date=1923-09-27 |title=CHARLES TOTH |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/tyrone-daily-herald-sep-27-1923-p-1/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |work=The Tyrone Daily Herald |page=1}}

France to England{{flagu|United States}}Gertrude Ederle192614:39First woman to cross in either direction.{{Cite news|first= Richard|last= Severo|quote=Gertrude Ederle, who was called America's best girl by President Calvin Coolidge in 1926 after she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel, died yesterday at a nursing home in Wyckoff, N.J. She was 98. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/01/sports/gertrude-ederle-the-first-woman-to-swim-across-the-english-channel-dies-at-98.html |title=Gertrude Ederle, the First Woman to Swim Across the English Channel, Dies at 98 |work=The New York Times |date=1 December 2003 |accessdate=11 August 2009 }}She did it in 14 hours 39 minutes, breaking the men's record of the time by two hours. However, this swim attracted some controversy. On 16 August, The Westminster Gazette reported locals as saying that "Miss Ederle swam under the lea of one of the accompanying tugs" while another boat "navigated in such a manner as to keep the heavy seas and tides off her" and that "Miss Ederle was drawn along by the suction of the tug so that she was able to swim at about twice the speed she would have been able to swim under ordinary conditions." The Dover Express and East Kent News commented that "So far little information has been given of the detail of Miss Ederle's swim. The most extraordinary thing about it being that she made no westward drift with the ebb tide, which on the day in question ran westward for nearly seven hours."
France to England

|{{flagu|Denmark}}

|Amelia Gade Corson

|1926

|15:32

|Second woman and first mother.{{Cite news |date=1926-08-29 |title=Nearly Equaled Ederle's Time.: SECOND WOMAN TO SWIM THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. MRS. CORSON SWIMS ENGLISH CHANNEL |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/08/29/archives/nearly-equaled-ederles-time-second-woman-to-swim-the-english.html |access-date=2024-10-05 |work=The New York Times |pages=1, 3}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Germany}}

|Ernst Vierkötter

|1926

|12:40

|Eighth crossing.{{Cite web |title=Vierkotter, Ernst |url=https://www.channelswimmingdover.org.uk/content/swimmer/vierkotter-ernst |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=Channel Swimming Dover |language=en}}

France to England and England to France{{flagu|United Kingdom}}Edward H. Temme193415:34Ninth and first man to swim the English Channel in both directions. He swam from France to England in August 1927 and from England to France on 18 August 1934.{{cite web |url=http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/burgess.htm |title=People of Note |accessdate=10 August 2010 |quote=Edward Temme, a London insurance clerk, was the first man to swim across the Channel both ways, from France to England in August 1927 and from England to France on 18 August 1934. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092204/http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/burgess.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}

National firsts

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:left"

! Direction

! Country of origin

! width="150" |Swimmer

! Year

! Time

! class="unsortable" |Notes

England to France

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Matthew Webb

|1875

|21:45

|First British person and man to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from United Kingdom |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/united-kingdom |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Matthew Webb on 24 August 1875 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1875-08-24/matthew-webb |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

England to France

|{{flagu|United States|1912}}

|Henry Sullivan

|1923

|26:50

|First American person and man to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from United States |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/united-states |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Henry Sullivan on 5 August 1923 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1923-08-05/henry-sullivan |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|United States|1912}}

|Gertrude Ederle

|1926

|14:39

|First American woman to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from United States |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/united-states |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Gertrude Ederle on 6 August 1926 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1926-08-06/gertrude-ederle |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

England to France

|{{flagu|France}}

|Georges Michel

|1926

|11:05

|First French person and man to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from France |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/france |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Georges Michel on 9 September 1926 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1926-09-09/georges-michel |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Mercedes Gleitze

|1927

|15:15

|First British woman to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from United Kingdom |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/united-kingdom |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Mercedes Gleitze on 7 October 1927 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1927-10-07/mercedes-gleitze |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|South Africa|1928}}

|Margaret ('Peggy') Duncan

|1930

|16:17

|First known person from Southern Africa to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=English Channel |url=https://swimhistory.co.za/index.php/sports/swimming/long-distance-swimming/english-channel |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=The History of Aquatic Sports in Southern Africa}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Sweden}}

|Sally Bauer

|1939

|15:22

|First Swede, and first Scandinavian, to swim the English Channel.{{Cite web |title=skbl.se - Sally Viola Bauer |url=http://skbl.se/en/article/SallyBauer |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=skbl.se |language=en}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Belgium}}

|Fernand Du Moulin

|1949

|12:59

|First Belgian person and man to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from Belgium |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/belgium |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Fernand Du Moulin on 2 September 1949 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1949-09-02/fernand-du-moulin |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Canada|1921}}

|Winnie Leuszler

|1951

|13:25

|First Canadian to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |author=Bryan Finlay |title=A Pioneering Canadian Marathon Swimmer |url=http://www.soloswims.com/winnie.htm |accessdate=2017-06-22 |publisher=Soloswims.com}}{{cite web | title=Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. - Canadians Cross the Channel (33) | website=Marathon and Long-Distance Swims | url=https://www.soloswims.com/can-chan.htm | access-date=2025-06-13}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Netherlands}}

|Jan van Hemsbergen

|1951

|14:03

|First Dutch person and man to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from Netherlands |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/netherlands |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Jan Van Hemsbergen on 16 August 1951 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1951-08-16/jan-van-hemsbergen |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Jenny James

|1951

|13:55

|First Welsh person to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |date=31 October 2014 |title=Jenny James: First Welsh person to swim the channel dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-29845833 |access-date=27 September 2023 |website=BBC News}}{{Cite web |last=Tegeltija |first=Sam |date=2014-10-30 |title=The first Welsh woman to swim across the English channel, Jenny James, dies at the age of 87 |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/first-welsh-woman-swim-across-8023504 |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=WalesOnline |language=en}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Mexico}}

|Damian Pizá Beltran

|1953

|15:23

|First Mexican to swim the English Channel.{{cite web | title=Damián Píza Beltrán | website=Openwaterpedia | date=1953-08-02 | url=https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Dami%C3%A1n_P%C3%ADza_Beltr%C3%A1n | access-date=2025-06-13}}{{cite web | last=León | first=David | title=Nadar y nadar, como Damián | website=Revista Merca2.0 | date=2021-12-29 | url=https://www.merca20.com/nadar-y-nadar-como-damian/ | language=es | access-date=2025-06-13}}{{cite web | title=Beltran, Damian Piza | website=Channel Swimming Dover | date=2018-01-10 | url=https://www.channelswimmingdover.org.uk/content/swimmer/beltran-damian-piza | access-date=2025-06-13}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Syria}}

|Mohamed El Soussi

|1954

|17:55

|First Syrian person and man to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from Syria |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/syria |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Mohamed El Soussi on 21 August 1954 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1954-08-21/mohamed-el-soussi |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Canada}}

|Jacques Amyot

|1956

|13:02

|First Canadian man to swim the English Channel.{{Cite web |title=Jacques Amyot |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jacques-amyot |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |language=en}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Bangladesh}}

|Brojen Das

|1958

|10:35

|First Asian (from Bikrampur, East Pakistan; now Bangladesh) to swim the English Channel, at the English Channel Swimming Competition in 1958. Das became a Bangladeshi citizen after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|India}}

|Mihir Sen

|1958

|14:45

|First Indian to swim the English Channel.Bose, Anjali, Samsad Bangali Chariutabhidhan, Vol II, {{in lang|bn}} p. 268, Sishu Sahitya Samsad Pvt. Ltd., {{ISBN|81-86806-99-7}}

France to England

|{{Flagu|Brazil}}

|Abilio Couto

|1958

|12:45

|First South American to swim the English Channel.{{cite web | title=Abilio Couto | website=Openwaterpedia | date=1924-12-24 | url=https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Abilio_Couto | access-date=2025-06-13}}{{cite web | title=Abílio Couto | website=Hall da Fama da Natação Brasileira | date=2022-12-22 | url=https://hfnb.com.br/homenageados/abilio-couto/ | language=pt | access-date=2025-06-13}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Southern Rhodesia}}

|Dennis Pearson

|1959

|15:36

|The second known person, and first man, from Southern Africa to swim the Channel. Pearson, from Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, swam across on Bastille Day, 14 July 1959.{{cite web | title=Channel swimmer, Dennis Pearson | website=Channel Swimming Dover | date=2018-01-10 | url=https://www.channelswimmingdover.org.uk/content/photo/channel-swimmer-dennis-pearson | access-date=2025-06-13}}

France to England

|{{flagu|India}}

|Arati Saha

|1959

|14:20

|First Indian woman and first Asian woman to swim the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

France to England

|{{Flagu|North Macedonia}}

|Niko Nestor

|1959

|12:06

|First Macedonian to swim the English Channel.{{Cite web |title=Niko Nestor, 1st North Macedonian to Swim Across The English Channel dies aged 81 |url=https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/news/124/niko-nestor-1st-macedonian-swim-across-english-channel-dies-aged-81 |access-date=2018-04-15 |publisher=Channel Swimming Association}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Netherlands}}

|Mary Kok

|1960

|24:25

|First Dutch woman to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from Netherlands |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/netherlands |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Mary Kok on 18 August 1960 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1960-08-18/mary-kok |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

England to France

|{{flagu|South Africa|1928}}

|Peter Bales

|1969

|13:38

|Second person, and first man, from South Africa to swim the English Channel. He was the third person from Southern Africa to complete the swim.{{cite web | title=Peter Bales | website=Openwaterpedia | date=2021-10-12 | url=https://openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Peter_Bales | access-date=2025-06-13}}

France to England

|{{Flagu|North Macedonia}}

|Atina Bojadži

|1969

|13:20

|First Macedonian woman to swim the English Channel.{{Cite news |title=North Macedonian swimming great Bojadzi dies at 66 |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-12-29-2206891105_x.htm |access-date=2018-04-15 |newspaper=USA Today}}

France to England

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Ray Cossum

|1970

|13:41

|First Irishman to swim the English Channel. (Cossum was born in Kent and moved to Derry, Northern Ireland as a teenager.) He worked as a saturation diver and claimed to be the only person to have crossed the Channel by train, boat, submarine, plane and swimming, and to have worked at its bottom.{{Cite web |title=Derry's Ray Cossum - first person from Ireland to swim English channel - inducted into Hall of Fame |date=4 December 2020 |url=https://www.derryjournal.com/news/people/derrys-ray-cossum-first-person-from-ireland-to-swim-english-channel-inducted-into-hall-of-fame-3057454}}{{Cite news |date=2 August 1970 |title=Irishman Swims Channe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/02/archives/irishman-swims-channe.html |work=The New York Times |via=NYTimes.com}}

France to England

|{{flagu|Czechoslovakia}}

|{{ill|František Venclovský|cz}}

|1971

|15:26

|First Czech (Czechoslovak at that time) to swim the channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Poland}}

|Teresa Zarzeczańska

|1975

|11:10

|First Polish person to swim the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Poland}}

|Romuald Szopa

|1978

|12:49

|First Polish man to swim the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Mary Yeats

|1979

|11:19

|First Scot to swim the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Belgium}}

|Vera Zeitzen

|1981

|10:27

|First Belgian woman to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from Belgium |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/belgium |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Vera Zeitzen on 7 September 1981 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1981-09-07/vera-zeitzen |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Tunisia}}

|Nejib Belhedi

|1993

|16:35

|First Tunisian to swim the channel, namesake of a trophy for swimming the channel at the highest tide.{{cite web |title=Nejib BelHedi - Solo Channel Swimmer |url=http://www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming/swimmers/500/Nejib+BelHedi/ |accessdate=13 September 2015}}

England to France

|{{flagu|France}}

|Marion Hans

|1994

|9:42

|First French woman to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from France |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/france |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Marion Hans on 1 August 1994 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/1994-08-01/marion-hans |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

England to France

|{{Flagu|Norway}}

|Bharat Shukla

|2000

|13:52

|First Norwegian to swim the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|China}}

|Zhang Jian

|2001

|11:56

|First person from China to swim the English Channel. {{Cite web |title=中国人征服英吉利 张健成功横渡英吉利海峡 |url=https://2014.sohu.com/41/19/sports_news163371941.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720194510/https://2014.sohu.com/41/19/sports_news163371941.shtml |archive-date=2024-07-20}}{{Cite web |title=张健成为横渡英吉利海峡中国第一人 |url=http://news.enorth.com.cn/system/2001/07/30/000102704.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240720195423/http://news.enorth.com.cn/system/2001/07/30/000102704.shtml |archive-date=2024-07-20}}{{cite web |title=Zhang Jian |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swimmers/zhang-jian |access-date=20 July 2024 |publisher=Dover Council}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Barbados}}

|Chris Gibbs

|2003

|11:30

|First person from a Caribbean country to swim the English Channel. Aged 58, and member of The Merrymen Calypso band.{{cite web |date=21 August 2003 |title=United through swimming- Chris Gibbs swims the channel |url=http://www.unitedcaribbean.com/chrisgibbsswim.html |accessdate=13 November 2018 |publisher=United Caribbean Trust}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Malaysia}}

|Abdul Malik Mydin

|2003

|17:42

|First Malaysian swimmer to cross the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Dominican Republic}}

|Marcos Diaz

|2004

|09:56

|First Dominican swimmer to cross the English Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{Flagu|Singapore}}

|Thum Ping Tjin

|2005

|12:24

|First Singaporean to swim the Channel.{{Cite web |title=Singapore Cross-English Channel Charity Swim |url=http://channel.thum.org/pub.html |access-date=2021-02-25 |website=channel.thum.org}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Iceland}}

|Sigrún Þuríður Geirsdóttir

|2015

|22:34

|First Icelandic woman to swim the English Channel.{{Cite web |title=First Icelandic woman swims the Channel |url=https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2015/08/09/first_icelandic_woman_swims_the_channel/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Iceland Monitor}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Luxembourg}}

|Paule Kremer

|2017

|13:54

|First Luxembourgish person and woman to swim the English Channel.{{cite web |title=Successful English Channel swims by swimmers from Luxembourg |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/all/luxembourg |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}{{cite web |title=English Channel swim by Paule Kremer on 8 August 2017 |url=https://www.dover.uk.com/channel-swimming/swims/2017-08-08/paule-kremer |accessdate=2025-01-05 |publisher=dover.uk.com}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Ecuador}}

|Sara Palacios

|2018

|12:58

|First Ecuadorian citizen and South American Woman to swim the channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{Flagu|Syria}}

|Zeina Alsharkas

|2019

|11:36

|First Syrian woman to swim the English Channel.{{Cite web |title=Syrian lecturer successfully completes English Channel swim {{!}} University of Essex |url=https://www.essex.ac.uk/news/2019/08/13/syrian-lecturer-successfully-completes-english-channel-swim |access-date=2019-08-16 |website=www.essex.ac.uk}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Chile}}

|Bárbara Hernández

|2019

|12:13

|First Chilean to swim the English Channel.{{Cite news |title=Bárbara Hernández conquista el Canal de la Mancha |url=https://www.latercera.com/el-deportivo/noticia/barbara-hernandez-conquista-el-canal-de-la-mancha/764916/ |access-date=17 December 2019 |publisher=La Tercera}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Taiwan}}

|Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而)

|2024

|12:17

|First Taiwanese to swim the English Channel. {{Cite web |date=2024-07-21 |title=First Taiwanese swims across English Channel - Taipei Times |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2024/07/21/2003821097 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=www.taipeitimes.com}}

Other notable crossings

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:left"

! Direction

! Country of origin

! width="150" |Swimmer

! Year

! Time

! class="unsortable" |Notes

England to France

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Florence Chadwick

|1953

|14:42

|First woman to swim the English Channel in both directions (on separate occasions).

England to France

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Bill Pickering

|1955

|14:06

|First vegetarian swimmer to cross the English Channel.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

England to France to England

|{{flagu|Argentina}}

|Antonio Abertondo

|1961

|43:10

|First person to swim the channel both ways non-stop.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

France to England

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Margaret White

|1961

|15:08

|At the time, the youngest person to swim the Channel (aged 17).{{cite web |title=Channel Swimming - Successful Swim by Margaret White (1961) |url=http://www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming/swims/1961/9/2/1499/Margaret+White/ |website=dover.uk.com |access-date=21 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107080220/http://www.dover.uk.com/channelswimming/swims/1961/9/2/1499/Margaret+White/ |archive-date=7 January 2016 |url-status=dead}}

England to France to England

|{{flagu|Canada}}

|Cindy Nicholas

|1977

|19:55

|First woman and youngest swimmer (at the time) to swim the channel both ways non-stop, breaking Jon Erikson's record of 30 hours and setting a new world record. Her one way crossing in 1975 set the record of 9 hours and 46 minutes (a record that stood until 1988).{{Cite web |title=Cindy Nicholas |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cynthia-nicholas |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |language=en}} She holds the record for the most two-way crossings with a total of five.{{Cite web |title=Cindy Nicholas |url=https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-cindy-nicholas/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) |language=en-US}}

England to France

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Charles Chapman

|1981

|12:30

|First black swimmer to cross the Channel.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France to England to France

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Jon Erikson

|1981

|38:27

|First person to swim the channel three ways.{{cite web |title=Jon Erikson 1981 |url=https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim/2430/jon-erikson |website=www.channelswimmingassociation.com |publisher=Channel Swimming Association |access-date=5 January 2025 |language=en}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Australia}}

|John Maclean

|1998

|12:55

|First paraplegic to swim the Channel.{{cite news |date=1 September 1998 |title=Briefs |newspaper=The Age |page=7}}

England to France

|{{flagu|Bulgaria}}

|Petar Stoychev

|2007

|6:57

|First swimmer to cross the English Channel under 7 hours.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

England to France

|{{flagu|France}}

|Philippe Croizon

|2010

|13:28

|First quadruple amputee to swim the English Channel.{{cite news |last1=Lichfield |first1=John |title=Four amputations, 13 hours – one extraordinary swim |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/four-amputations-13-hours-ndash-one-extraordinary-swim-2083847.html |access-date=5 January 2025 |work=The Independent |date=20 September 2010}}

England to France to England to France to England

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Sarah Thomas

|2019

|54:10

|First person to swim the channel four ways non-stop.{{Cite news |title=Sarah Thomas: Woman First to Swim Channel Four Times Non-stop |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-49724851 |access-date=17 September 2019 |publisher=BBC}}

England to France

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Gillian Castle

|2023

|13:53

|First person with a stoma to swim the Channel.{{Cite news |title=Alnwick woman becomes first solo English Channel stoma swimmer |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-66783980?fbclid=IwAR1nmcvE8KFL_IagnYdSeOO1R6Tp-B3vlv7EoZ9_Y7ssVlC24ApSjDJAUhs |access-date=15 September 2023 |publisher=BBC}}

Records

= Fastest =

class="wikitable"

!Record!!Country of origin!!Swimmer!!Time!!Date

6.55

|Men

{{flagu|Germany}}Andreas Waschburger {{Cite web |date=2023-09-09 |title=Waschburger durchquert Ärmelkanal in Weltrekordzeit |url=https://www.sr.de/sr/home/sport/waschburger_weltrekord_aermelkanal_100.html |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=SR |language=de-DE}}06:45Sep. 2023
Women{{flagu|Czech Republic}}Yvetta Hlaváčová07:252006
Men two ways{{flagu|New Zealand}}Philip Rush16:101987
Women two ways{{flagu|Australia}}Susie Maroney17:141991
Men three ways{{flagu|New Zealand}}Philip Rush28:211987
Women three ways{{flagu|United Kingdom}}Alison Streeter34:401990
Four ways

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Sarah Thomas

|54:10

|2019

= Most crossings =

class="wikitable"
Record

!Country of origin

!Swimmer

!Crossings

Women

|{{flagu|Australia}}

|Chloë McCardel

|45

Men

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Kevin Murphy

|34

Women two ways

|{{flagu|Canada}}

|Cynthia Nicholas

|5

rowspan=2|Men two ways

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Kevin Murphy

|rowspan=2|3

{{flagu|Australia}}

|Stuart Johnson

rowspan=3|Women three ways

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Alison Streeter

|rowspan=3|1

{{flagu|Australia}}

|Chloe McCardel

{{flagu|United States}}

|Sarah Thomas

rowspan="2"|Men three ways

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Jon Erikson

|rowspan="2"|1

{{flagu|New Zealand}}

|Philip Rush

Four ways

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Sarah Thomas

|1

= Oldest swimmer =

class="wikitable"
Record

!Country of origin

!Swimmer

!Age

!Date

!Reference

Women

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Linda Ashmore

|71 years

|August 21, 2018

|{{cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-person-to-swim-the-english-channel-(female)|title= Oldest person to swim the English Channel (female)|date= 21 August 2018|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=15 April 2022 }}

Men

|{{flagu|South Africa}}

|Otto Thaning

|73 years

|September 6, 2014

|{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29098348 |title=South African Otto Thaning, 73, is oldest channel swimmer |publisher=BBC News |date=2014-09-07 |accessdate=2017-06-22}}

= Youngest swimmer =

class="wikitable"
Record

!Country of origin

!Swimmer

!Age

!Date

!Reference

Women

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Samantha Druce

|12 years, 118 days

|1983

|{{cite web |title=Samantha Druce 1983 |url=https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim/2713/samantha-druce |publisher=Channel Swimming Association }}

Men

|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}

|Thomas Gregory

|11 years, 330 days

|1988

|{{cite web |title=Thomas Gregory 1988 |url=https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim/2401/thomas-gregory |publisher=Channel Swimming Association |accessdate=28 August 2018}}

= Relay =

class="wikitable"
webb

!Record!!Country of origin!!Swimmers!!Time!!Date

2 swimmers{{flagu|United Kingdom }}9:222005
3 swimmers{{flagu|USA}}9:392011
4 swimmers{{flagu|Brazil}}8:222011

Sources

{{Refbegin|indent=yes}}

  • {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/crossing00kath |title=The crossing: the glorious tragedy of the first man to swim the English channel |last=Watson |first=Kathy |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |year=2001 |isbn=1-58542-109-X |location=New York |language=en}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Dolphin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEQ4Yb_O4MYC |title=The Channel Feats of Captain Webb and Captain Boyton |publisher=Dean & Son |year=1875 |location=London |language=en}}

{{Refend}}

References

{{reflist}}