Florence May Chadwick (born November 9, 1918 – died March 15, 1995) was an American swimmer who was the first woman ever to cross the English Channel both ways. She also made contributions to various youth groups. Born in San Diego Chadwick had her first swimming competition win at the age of ten, and later, at the age of eleven, competed in her first "challenging" competition, a rough water swim. She placed fourth in the event. Chadwick's biggest contribution to swimming history occurred on August 8, 1950, when she crossed the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking the then-current world record held by American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. One year later, Chadwick crossed the English Channel yet again, from England to France; this time, in 16 hours and 22 minutes, thus making her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. In 1952, Florence was the first woman to attempt to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began this historical journey, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. Hour after hour Florence swam, but after about 15 hours, a thick, heavy fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. She swam for one more hour before asking to be pulled out. As she sat in the boat, Florence found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from the California shoreline, her destination. Florence explained that she quit because she could no longer see the coastline-there was too much fog. She couldn’t see her goal. Two months later, Florence got back in the water to try her task once more. This time was different. She swam from Catalina Island to the shore of California in a straight path for 26 miles. The same thick fog set in, but Florence made it because she said that while she swam, she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind. She didn’t lose sight of the shore because she focused on that image of the coast in her mind, and in this way, she reached her goal In 1954, she attempted, but failed to become the first person to swim across Lake Ontario (her competitor in this endeavor, Canadian Marilyn Bell, succeeded the next day).
References
"World Book". World Book Online Reference Center. Retrieved on 9/21/07.
