Australian endurance swimmer Chloe McCardel has broken the men’s world record for the most number of swims across the English Channel. She took 10 hours and 40 minutes to complete her 35th Channel crossing, exceeding the record of 34 held by Kevin Murphy, a 71-year old swimmer from Britain, by one lap. McCardel is now only one place short of breaking the English Channel world record that is currently held by another woman, Alison Streeter, who is known as the "Queen of the English Channel" and has completed the swim 43 times.
In a Twitter video Endurance swimmer Chloe McCardel has completed a record-breaking crossing of the English Channel! 🏊♀️🥽
She landed in Calais just before 7am this morning. The 35-year-old took 10 hours and 40 minutes to make her 35th Channel crossing.
Well done, Chloe! https://t.co/yK5joM7PmP pic.twitter.com/YTGQOIGauj
— ITV News Meridian (@itvmeridian) August 16, 2020 by ITV News, McCardel can be seen on a boat, with a placard in hand that marks the count of her record-breaking swim over and above the men's placeholder. She says elatedly, "Super happy to finally hit my 35th English Channel crossing surpassing the men's world record."
Here is the video of McCardel's announcement:
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Chloe McCardel Says She Is In "Great Spirits"
The 35-year-old started her swim from Abbot's Cliff beach near Folkestone in England on Saturday evening British Standard Time and arrived in Calais, France just before 07:00 am the next day, covering a total of 21 miles, according to BBC.
She told the media channel, "I'm in great spirits. I would like to have a little celebration this evening in England. I'm extremely lucky to be surrounded by so much love and support, from my English host to my support boat captains and crew, and I'm excited to celebrate this achievement together with them."
There were initial concerns about landing onshore in France amid fears of COVID-19, but McCardel said she got the all-clear and wouldn't have to isolate in quarantine because "I usually finish where there are large boulders and it's inaccessible to people on land because you can't walk through the boulders. There's no sand."
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Records Held By McCardel
When she was allowed to undertake the feat amid COVID-19 restrictions last month, she told The Sydney Morning Herald, "It's a privilege to have the opportunity to represent Australia when so many people can't travel overseas, people have loved ones they're trying to connect with or other very valid reasons and not everyone is getting an exemption."
McCardel already holds multiple other world records in endurance swimming. She emerged victorious in the longest ratified unassisted ocean swim in 2014, covering 124.4km in 41.5 hours in the Bahamas. Then in 2016, she had set a record for the most number of English Channel swims by an Australian upon her 20th crossing.
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