Australian Swimmer Chloë McCardel To Go For English Channel World Record

Australian open water swimmer Chloë McCardel is planning to reach her 44th completed swim across the English Channel this fall — and her success would break the world record for the most completed swims across the channel, for men and women.

“It’s surreal,” McCardel told SwimSwam. “It’s been a long journey. I started swimming the English Channel in 2009, and yet at the same time it feels like it’s coming really fast right at me, like a meteorite. It feels like the conclusion of a journey, like I’m on the home stretch.”

The 36-year-old Poseidon award-winner began her journey 11 years ago, when she first crossed the channel in 2009. The swim is just over 21 miles, and McCardel completed her 42nd crossing on September 21. The current world record, for men and women, is held by Alison Streeter MBE, who has swum across the Channel 43 times. The men’s record is 34 crossings.

The swim itself is excruciatingly difficult, with water temperatures cold enough to eventually induce hypothermia, the constant stream of boat traffic to monitor, and waves that can reach almost seven feet in height. 

Swimmers also don’t know when they’re swimming ahead of time; the date is based on where the swimmers are in the queue to cross the channel and how safe the conditions are. In total, McCardel said the variation in swimming conditions can throw off her times by hours.

“I still get nervous before every swim, because it is still really difficult,” McCardel said. “Even though I’ve done multiple non-stop [swims], or even up to eight in one season, it’s still a very long way, it’s nonstop, the water is between 15 (59 degrees Fahrenheit) and 17 (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) Celsius, and the tide can push you all over the place.”

McCardel’s journey hasn’t been easy. Hypothermia is a regular concern, and when she first attempted a nonstop triple crossing, her swim induced pulmonary edema, where fluid builds up in your lungs and led to a trip to the ICU.

But she said she doesn’t consider quitting, especially during a crossing.

“Getting out just isn’t an option,” McCardel said. “There’s nothing in me that’s like, ‘It’s a good idea to get out right now.’ No matter how cold I am — and I do get hypothermia sometimes — no matter how bored I am, even if the voice in my head is telling me how many hours I’ve got left, there’s nothing that’s in me that says to get out.”

McCardel credits her history as an ex-competitive swimmer, and the foundation it gave her, as the reason she keeps going, even when she’s tired or stressed.

For the Channel-crossing season, McCardel stays in the United Kingdom, where she said she tends to treat her Channel swims like a hard training session. Because she doesn’t know when she’ll swim next, she can’t make her regular practice too difficult. 

In the off-season, she returns to Australia, where she trains at a national level, and that helps her maintain her fitness.

McCardel’s successes extend beyond her 42 crossings. She also has the world record for the longest unassisted ocean swim, earned when she swam from South Eleuthera Island to Nassau, a total of over 77 miles. She was the first person in 25 years to complete a triple-crossing of the Channel, which happens when you cross the Channel three times non-stop. She’s even crossed the Channel three times in a week, which happened back in 2015.

McCardel also uses her platform to advocate for victims of domestic violence, and she herself is a survivor of domestic violence.

“Last year, I was very concerned about the increasing rates of domestic violence because of lockdown requirements from governments across the world, because people were getting locked in with their perpetrator,” McCardel said. “It was concerning me that the government was saying the safest place you can be is inside your home.”

She said she helps promote the criminalization of coercive control in Australia, and that she plans to keep the momentum going so changes will be enacted sooner rather than later.

After completing her 44th swim, McCardel hopes to continue being a keynote speaker and start a family in the next few years. She also said she hopes this journey can continue to inspire people. 

“I would like to show people that you can achieve great things, even if you’re going through tough times,” McCardel said. “Along the way, I’ve been admitted into intensive care, I’ve nearly died, but I didn’t give up on my dreams. Keep believing in your dreams.”