Gertrude Ederle (1905 – 2003)

 

 

In the 1920's, teenage Olympic medal winning swimming sensation Gertrude Ederle from New York wanted to prove that a woman could complete a swimming challenge said to be as Difficult and dangerous as climbing Mount Everest.  Trudy wanted to be the first woman to swim across the freezing waters to the English Channel.

 

On her second attempt after swimming for 14 hours and 31 minutes, she reached the English coast.  Trudy had swum it her way and set a new record time, two hours faster than any of the men who had previously completed the swim.

 

Thanks to the fabulous book Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World by Kate Pankhurst.