Sarah Thomas, an ultramarathon swimmer from the United States, has recently completed a swim that no other human on the earth has ever done. The 37-year-old Colorado man drowned in the early hours of Sunday morning off the coast of Dover, England. Her ambition was to swim across the English Channel. Then repeat the process. Only this time, she planned to do it in under four hours.
Thomas started her journey on June 1st, 2004, at 6:00 a.m. and ended up landing in Dover at 11:59 a.m. the next day. She covered a distance of 19 miles and climbed out of the water for gas about once every hour. No one knows how long it will take her to complete her second attempt as she will no doubt try to improve upon her first effort. But we can be sure of one thing: it will be even harder than her first try!
In case you're wondering why someone would want to swim from America to England, here's the answer: competition. In addition to being an ultradistance swimmer, Thomas is also a triathlete. And what better way to prepare for your own epic race than by trying to beat someone who has already done it?
After her successful attempt at swimming the channel, Thomas wrote a book about her experience called "I'm Swimming From America To England". The idea came after she heard about another swimmer who was planning to cross the channel.
Sarah Thomas, a 37-year-old breast cancer survivor, swam two round trips from England to France in 54 hours, fueling herself on oatmeal and M&Ms. Sarah Thomas, an open-water swimmer, became the first person to swim the English Channel four times in a row without stopping last month. The feat earned her a spot on this year's British Olympic team.
Thomas began her journey on June 1 at 6:00 a.m. and finished on June 5 at 6:00 a.m., covering a total of 54 hours 50 minutes. She averaged out to be swimming more than 10 miles (16 km) every hour and a half during that time. To prepare for the challenge, she ate plenty of food and drank several bottles of water while following a daily schedule that included training sessions and rest days.
The English Channel is one of the most challenging open-water races in the world. It's 21 miles (34 km) long and covers a wide area with many dangers including strong currents, rough seas, and jellyfish.
Only eight other people have ever completed the channel swim four times, and only three of them were female. The fastest time for someone who has done it once is 3 days 14 hours 20 minutes by Don Beardmore. The record for twice is held by Pete Bethune who took 8 days 20 hours 30 minutes to complete the swim.
A 16-year-old from New Hampshire swims the English Channel from England to France. Dover, UK (NewsNation Now) – A 16-year-old New Hampshire kid successfully swam across the English Channel, becoming just the second American to do it in 2020. Nicholas Mahut accomplished the feat on Thursday night by swimming the channel in under three hours, breaking the record held by another American: Mark Spitz.
Mahut's video of him crossing the channel has been watched more than 10 million times on YouTube. He said he was "so happy and proud" after completing his challenge. The teenager had been taking part in the Swim Across America series when he decided to go for a record. He started his attempt on June 4 at 6 p.m. ET and finished less than three hours later. The previous record was set in 2019 by an Australian named Andrew Swihart.
Swihart completed the channel in about 2:50 hours. He said afterward that he was only able to swim due to high winds that pushed him toward France. Otherwise, he added, "the channel would have killed me."
Mahut has not announced any plans to continue the record, but he did say he might return to the channel next year to break its other existing record — that held by Mark Spitz. The seven-time gold medalist competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.
Diana Nyad's Final Attempt At A Record-Breaking Swim From Cuba To Florida When she reached 60, the distance swimmer resolved to fulfill her life's greatest challenge: a 110-mile swim from Havana to Key West. It was her fifth attempt at the feat, and she eventually won. She broke two records in the process—the one-woman mark for the farthest by a female swimmer and the overall record for most miles swam by any human being.
Nyad began her quest on June 10, 2013. She planned to finish two months later on August 31. But hurricanes Maria and Irma caused major damage to much of Cuba's infrastructure, including its swimming facilities. So when Hurricane Kendra struck early this morning, it ended Nyad's record-breaking journey before it had even begun. "The ocean has taken everything from me that I hoped to carry across its waters," she said in a statement. "But I know I will keep striving to reach for my dreams."
A member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Nyad was an outstanding swimmer who set several world records during her career. In fact, she holds the women's record for the longest swim without a break—nine hours and 53 minutes. And at the age of 40, she became the first woman to swim from California to Mexico, completing the swim in three days and five hours.
Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio OOnt (born October 19, 1937) is a Canadian long-distance swimmer who has retired. She was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario, and she went on to swim across the English Channel and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. She holds the records for both crossings.
Di Lascio became interested in swimming at an early age. When she was 12 years old she set a world record by swimming 500 meters in under 10 minutes. At 15 she won her first international medal when she took third place at the British Empire Games in Perth, Western Australia. Four years later she won another bronze medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
In 1964 Di Lascio decided to try to beat the existing records for crossing bodies of water. So she traveled to Europe where there were more records to break. But she had to stop after she suffered some brain damage due to a congenital heart defect. After this incident, she stopped competing in aquatic events.
Now that she has retired from swimming, Marilyn Di Lascio works with disabled children and teaches art classes to adults with mental disabilities. She lives in Port Dover, Ontario with her husband Paul and they have two sons. Her son Tony died in 2003 at the age of 40.
Di Lascio says that people sometimes ask if she would like to go back into competition.
Diana Nyad, an endurance swimmer, has been the first person to swim from Cuba to the United States without using a shark cage. After 53 hours of nonstop swimming, the 64-year-old American arrived at Key West, Florida, followed by boats and her 35-person crew. She said she was inspired to attempt the swim because it's difficult but not impossible.
Cuba is one of the only countries in the world that cannot be reached by air travel. The only way to get to Cuba is by boat or through the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. However, not many people know this because no commercial flights fly to Cuba from the United States. There are some private flights that take off from Miami and New York City, but they are very expensive.
Swimming to Cuba is not easy because you need to consider many factors such as current, wind, and water temperature. Also, there are many dangerous fish in the water that can kill you if you encounter them during your swim. Nyad said she was afraid but also felt strong and determined when she began her journey on June 10, 2013.
She started her swim early in the morning from Pinar del Rio, which is a province on the west coast of Cuba. During her swim, heavy rain fell on Cuba for 14 hours straight. But Nyad said that she did not stop because she wanted to complete the swim in one piece.
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