In 1926, Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. She quickly earned the nickname “Queen of the Waves” from the press. She was the sixth person to finish the swim in history; five men completed the swim before she did. The English Channel is usually a 21 mile swim, but she went off course, adding 14 miles to her swim. Her 35 mile swim took her 14 hours and 39 minutes. Despite taking the scenic route through the channel instead of the direct 21 mile route, her time was the fastest in history, not just for women, but the men as well. The previous record was held by an Australian man at 16 hours and 33 minutes.
Trudy Ederle trained in Manhattan and did very well competing for the United States. She held several records including World Records, and was a member of the 1924 Olympic Team. At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France, Ederle won a gold medal as a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay that won with a 4:58.8. She also earned bronze medals in the women’s 100 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Her English Channel Record was not broken until 1950.
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965. A pool and recreation center in Manhattan was named after her and is still open today. The pool recently had a 15.3 million dollar renovation.
Happy Birthday’s
- Happy “would-be” 132nd Birthday to 1904 Olympic Bronze Medalist Bill Orthwein
- Happy 24th Birthday to Australian 2008 and 2012 Olympian Angie Bainbrige
- Happy 57th Birthday to former WR hold and 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist from Arizona St, Melissa Belote
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Happy 60th Birthday to 1964 Olympian and 4 time Olympic Medalist Sue Pederson
- Happyy 58th Birthday to 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist and WR holder from USC, Rod Strachan
- Happy 70th Birthday to Germany’s 1960 Olympic Bronze Medalist Gisela Weiß
