Facts about Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Ederle died at 98 years old
Best known as: The first woman to swim the English Channel

     

Gertrude Ederle Biography

American Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel, on 6 August 1926. Five men had performed the feat previously, but Ederle’s time of 14 hours and 31 minutes broke the record by nearly two hours. The feat earned her lasting fame and a ticker-tape parade when she returned to New York City. Ederle also won a gold and two bronze medals in swimming at the 1924 Olympics.

Extra credit

Ederle played herself in the 1927 movie Swim Girl, Swim… Most sources list her birth year as 1906, but biographer David Adler told Who2 that a family member says she was actually born in 1905.


     

Something in Common with Gertrude Ederle