Female swimmer breaks men's record for most English Channel crossings

Female swimmer breaks men's record for most English Channel crossings
Credit: Belga

Australia's Chloe McCardel (35) swam across the English Channel between England and France for the 35th time on Sunday, according to British media reports.

She broke the record set by British swimmer Kevin Murphy, who had swum across the English Channel 34 times.

McCardel left Kent on Saturday evening and covered the 35 km in 10 hours and 40 minutes.

However, McCardel did not break the women's record held by Britain's Alison Streeter, now 56 years old, who completed the crossing 43 times.

McCardel, who has faced domestic violence in the past leading to post-traumatic stress, wants to use the media attention generated by her performance to highlight this type of violence against women. "I am proud to be a voice for those who do not have one," she said.

Now, she wants to celebrate her success with her team in England.

The British government announced on Friday that travellers from France, the Netherlands and other countries are required to spend two weeks in isolation when they return to the country, starting on Saturday.

However, McCardel says she should not be quarantined, even though she landed briefly in France, as she had previously obtained a travel ban waiver from the Australian government, to allow her to travel to the United Kingdom.

The Brussels Times


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