Gertrude Ederle, the First Woman to Swim the English Channel – 6 August 1926 – The British Newspaper Archive Blog

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Gertrude Ederle, the First Woman to Swim the English Channel – 6 August 1926

On 6 August 1926, Gertrude Ederle, at just 20 years of age, became the first woman to swim the English Channel.

At the same time, she also set a new record time of 14 hours and 39 minutes for swimming the Channel – her record stood for 24 years.

Gertrude was an amazing woman who, despite suffering from deafness from an early age, achieved some wonderful things in life, including the winning of a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris.

To celebrate her historic feat, here is a newspaper report that was published the day after Gertrude became the first woman to swim the Channel.

Aberdeen Journal – Saturday 07 August 1926

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000577/19260807/070/0007

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