The first woman to swim the English Channel was Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer. She accomplished this historic feat on August 6, 1926, at the age of 19. Ederle not only became the first woman to complete the swim but also broke the existing men's record, finishing in 14 hours and 39 minutes, beating the previous best time by nearly two hours
. Ederle's swim started from Cap Gris-Nez, France, and she landed at Kingsdown, Kent, England. She faced challenging conditions including cold water, strong currents, and a storm during the swim. To protect herself from the cold, she covered her body with multiple layers of grease. Her coach was Bill Burgess, who himself had successfully swum the Channel in 1911
. Her achievement was widely celebrated, including a ticker-tape parade in New York City attended by over two million people, marking one of the largest parades for an athlete at the time
. In summary, Gertrude Ederle is renowned as the pioneering woman who first swam the English Channel, setting a record and inspiring generations of women in sport
