Long-distance swimming demands all of the physiological and psychological attributes needed for speed
swimming. The colossal difference is that in long-distance swimming, good technique must be maintained
for many hours, over many miles, and in the face of
awesome levels of pain and exhaustion.
History
The classical chronicle of distance swimming has Leander swimming the Hellespont to meet Hero, a distance of two and one-half miles round-trip. In the 19th
century, Lord Byron popularized long-distance swimming with a series of distance swims in the Mediterranean Sea.
The English Channel was and is the goal of many
distance swimmers. That fewer than 7 percent of the
swimmers who try the swim complete the trip testifies
to the difficulty of the task. The traditional route (the
one taken by Gertrude Ederle in her 1926 swim) is
from Cape Gris Nez, France, to Dover, England. While
the distance is only 32 kilometers (20 miles), currents,
tides, drift, and weather conditions can add several
miles to the actual distance swum.
The first claimed English Channel crossing took
place in 1815 when Jean-Marie Saletti, a French soldier,
escaped from an English prison hulk in Dover and
swam to Boulogne. While he certainly escaped by sea,
it is more than possible that he used a raft or small
boat.
Captain Matthew Webb achieved the first authenticated swimming of the English Channel on 24–25 August 1875. Webb covered the distance in a 21-hour, 45-
minute swim. As freestyle was not yet invented, Webb
used alternating cycles of breaststroke and sidestroke.
To this day he reigns supreme as the greatest showman
in the history of the sport. Captain Webb transformed
long-distance swimming venues into a three-ring circus, one part carnival, one part festival, and one part
rip-roaring recreational vacation sport.
The next successful Channel crossing took place in
1911. Edward Temme was the first swimmer to cross
the Channel in both directions—but not consecutively.
He swam from France to England in 1927 and seven
years later swam from England to France.
Two-way English Channel swims originated in
1961, when an Argentinian, Abertondo, swam the
Channel in both directions in a combined time of 43
hours, 5 minutes. In such swims a 5-minute intermission is allowed at the changeover point. The fastest
crossing of the English Channel was completed by an
American woman, Penny Dean, on 29 July 1978. Her
time was 7 hours, 40 minutes.
Today the crossing of the Cook Strait from the
South Island to the North Island of New Zealand is considered a more severe challenge than the English Channel. The fastest swim around Manhattan Island in New
York City was 5 hours, 53 minutes, by American Kris
Rutford on 29 August 1992.
Long-distance swimming is now recognized by the
American Athletic Union, and a one-hour swim championship measures how far one can travel in one hour.
At the 1978 championships in the men’s 25–29 and
75–79 divisions, the leading distances were 5,240 yards
(4,793 meters) and 3,260 yards (2,982 meters), respectively. In the women’s 25–29 and 75–79 divisions, the
leading distances were 4,235 yards (3,873 meters) and
1,575 yards (1,441 meters), respectively.
The golden era of long-distance swimming as a major spectator sport was relatively short but, as Judith
Jenkins George, has observed:
Thousands of spectators were drawn to the
oceans, lakes and pools to observe the swimming
marathons of the 1920s and 1930s. The fad of endurance swimming lasted less than a decade yet
during this time, it captivated the public’s interest
and the athlete’s imagination as a test of courage
and stamina.
—SCOTT A. G. M. CRAWFORD
Bibliography: George, J. J. (1995) “The Fad of North American Women’s Endurance Swimming during the Post–
World War I Era.” Canadian Journal of History of Sport 26,
1 (May): 52–72. Willoughby, D. P. (1970) The Super Athletes. New York: A. S. Barnes.