Penny Lee Dean Ed.D. (70, USA, MSF bio here) is a renowned marathon swimmer, a long-time USA Swimming national team coach and administrator, record-setting channel swimmer (both the English Channel and Catalina Channel), author, dual International Swimming Hall of Fame and International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee, and a long-time icon in the sport of open water swimming.

She set the English Channel record in July 1978 which stood for over 16 years until a swimmer she coached – Chad Hundeby – broke her record in 1994 with Dean on his escort boat.

She explains how she approached her English Channel crossing, “During my senior year at Pomona College, I applied for a Watson Scholarship. Watson was the founder of IBM and his kids founded the scholarship in his honor. My program was to study the national swim teams in 9 countries in Europe, write an autobiography, and swim the English Channel. I won one of the scholarships which gave me $7,000 dollars to do my program from October 1977 through September 1978 in Europe.

My pool swimming coach, Jim Montrella had given me contacts at all the swimming clubs and national teams in Europe. I wrote to each and arranged to stay with swim families in each country.

Prior to traveling to Europe, I met with a hypnotist to develop a mental training program in conjunction with my swimming program. This was divided into three parts. The first was concentrating on my goals for the English Channel swim using red dots and red lights. The second was a relaxation tape. The third was five affirmations for dealing with difficulties and various pain situations which might come up in open water swimming.

For the red dots, I put them on my suitcase, my swim bag, my logs, books, and mirrors – wherever I stayed. The red lights were stop signs, brake lights, or street lights. Every time I saw either one it was a reminder to think of my goals. I had four goals.

1. To finish the English Crossing.
2. To swim faster than 8 hours 45 minutes, the fastest single record at the time.
3. To swim faster than 8 hours. No one had done that before.
4. To swim faster than 7 hours.

The relaxation tape was half an hour long. I played it twice a day. Afterwards, I reviewed my goals and my affirmations four times each. The affirmations included:

1. Each time I move my arms, it relaxes those muscles and the harder and faster I move them. The more they relax, and the more comfortable they become and the faster I swim.
2. That the colder the water, the more comfortable I become. The colder the water, the more relaxed I become and the faster I move through the water.
3. The moment I reach the water, I lose all sense of time, only my speed remains and my sense of hearing.
4. I am a thousand times more calm, excited, and relaxed because I have just swum the English Channel in record time. From the moment I entered the water to the moment I came out, I was in the water only 15 minutes.

The brain doesn’t know the difference of past, future, or present so you can convince yourself to accomplish anything. Affirmations dealt with all aspects of the swim.

The English Channel is a straight 33 kilometers; however, with significant tides and currents which parallel each coast, most swim a minimum of 38.6 km. For all my months of training in Folkestone, the water was never above 58°F (14.4°C).

I trained 30.5 km a day. I looked at the English Channel swim as a 200-meter race in the Olympics.

To increase my pace, I improved my stroke count to 89 to 93 strokes a minute. I also changed from a two-beat kick to a four-beat kick. The latter helped me deal with the 56°F to 58°F water in the Channel. Both were major changes from what I previously did in the Catalina Channel.

Throughout Europe, I swam in every cold river, lake, pond, sea and ocean. I met with as many Channel coaches and navigators as I could find. I tried to swim 4-7 hours in the pool at each place I trained.

In March, I found out [my coach] Siga Gudmonson Albrecht was pregnant and wouldn’t make my crossing. Even though Siga didn’t want my mother on my crossing, I determined I needed her. I had to train her to be a coach and follow everything which would make my crossing a success. Every day she improved. My mother had never been on a boat and she was worried about getting seasick.

I met mother met me in Dinard, France in May where I began my ocean training. There I swam in 45°F (7.2°C) water for 5 minutes up to
2 hours. My mom helped me walk out of the cold water and go up to the swimming pool. After I took a 20-minute hot shower, I swam a 2-hour speed workout. Two hours later I could feel my whole body again.

I swam a 36,000-meter swim in Dinard’s 50-meter pool at the end of May. I was a half hour faster than I had been in Lakewood in 1976, setting a new world record.

At the end of May, we traveled to Folkestone for the final few months of preparation for the Channel swim. We shared a bed & breakfast room from May 30th to late July. I had the twin bed while my mother had a queen-sized bed. The bed & breakfas was across the street from the ocean. Unlike almost all of the other Channel swimmers, I didn’t swim in the protected harbor. I wanted to experience the wind, the waves, the cold water, and anything else the ocean could throw at me. For every mile I swam, my mother walked and learned what I liked and how I needed to be pushed.

In my free time, I read the Channel swimming records. I researched every prior attempt which was maintained by Audrey Scott, the Secretary of the Channel Swimming Association, CSA.

My workout schedule included walking 2 miles across Folkestone to swim 2 hours of speed training in the indoor pool. I was allowed to swim by myself before the pool was opened. Once we were done, we returned for breakfast. Then I swam 2 to 6 hours in the ocean. Three days a week, I returned to the pool for another two hours of speed training.

In the sea from May 30th until July 19th, I did four days of long distance training, 2 days of shorter and faster training. In all this time, no one else ever entered the sea. In Folkestone, the beach was made of loose rocks and was slanted to the water. With every wave hitting the beach, the rocks rolled down into the water. I had to wear flip flops to protect my feet and they made entering the water easier. Once past the waves, I threw my flip flops back to my mom. At the end of my practice, she threw them back to me.

After my ocean swims, I took a hot bath, had a hot pot of tea, and ate a sandwich. Then I took a second bath and went to lay down.

I kept a log of every practice in the pool and the ocean. I also recorded how my left shoulder was doing. In April I went to a shoulder specialist as my upper arm was turning blue and my fingers were turning numb. He told me to quit swimming immediately or I could lose my arm.

I took a few days off, then resumed my training. It turned out I was born without an anterior circumflex artery and swimming, especially marathon swimming, was the worst thing I could do with my arm.

Two weeks before the neap tide, my navigator said he wanted me to do a swim with Tina Bischoff, the fastest American to swim the English Channel [in 9 hours 3 minutes in 1976]. He wanted to see who should go first. Even though it was my day off, I met everyone at the boat. After I hopped in the water, I asked if we should stay together. Tina’s coach rolled his eyes and said let’s see what happens. I looked at my mother, sitting in the back of the boat and we both smiled.

When Reg Brickell, Sr. said go, I sprinted as fast as I could. I only saw Tina for a minute. I sprinted until the boat pulled in front of me. As I swam to the ladder, I blew out my air and relaxed completely. As I got out, Tina’s coach said I would destroy the record. Mom and I smiled all the way back to pick up Tina and head for the dock. I would be first.

The swim was planned for the neap tide, starting on July 27th.

I had begun my taper on July 19th. I dropped from swimming 11 miles to half a mile. I began the Protein-Carbohydrate diet on July 21st.

Nancy Smith and her parents arrived as did a friend from Germany and Barry.

Numerous times for the next week, I went over everything for the swim. Each of them had a job from doing the log and taking pictures to knowing when to cheer if I slowed down. No one was nervous – just ready to begin. On July 26th, the pilot said no go. We ended up having a hard-boiled egg fight the next day.

Finally on Friday, July 28th Reg said the swim was a 90% go.

We were up at 6:30 am.

Reg said it was a go. I ate pancakes for breakfast, then we walked to the Customs Building. Our passports were approved, and we got on the boat. It was 7 miles to the start in Dover. On the way over, Mom put on the Vaseline and lanolin on my legs and stomach under my swimsuit. Each of us wrote what time they thought I would swim, and Barry held the papers until we reached France.

Once at Shakespeare Beach, I was taken ashore in the skiff. There were four other swimmers. After a bit, the skiff returned to the boat.

As I stood on the shore, I had total confidence. I knew the record was mine as I had completely prepared. All I had to do was start. I felt relaxed and great. At 8:06 am, 1 hour after high tide, I began my swim. The boat was on my right for the first few miles.

The first break was at two hours. I had swum 10.5 km. My stroke count was between 91-93 strokes per minute. Breaks were planned at 2 hours, 3 hours 30 minutes, 5 hours, 6 hours, and 7 hours into the swim. I was drinking 6 ounces of ERG in black tea. It was warmed, but not too hot. Breaks were as fast as possible; otherwise with the currents, one could reswim up to 400 meters or more.

The British observer who was on the crossing told my mom there was no way I could hold this pace. My mom replied, ‘You don’t know my daughter.’ They ended up betting 10 British pounds.

During the first 3 hours, the ocean was calm with 56°C to 58°F water. Then the ocean kicked up and the water temperature dropped to 56°F (13.3°C) in mid channel. By this time, all the other swimmers had left the water. For a moment, I stopped looking at my crew. Everyone cheered for a couple of minutes. I smiled at them and yelled at myself for giving into the pain. I didn’t anymore.

Later, the wind got worse. My mom gave me our signal for me to sprint for two miles. I had been sprinting for 6 hours. What was going on? My brother started banging on the boat. I yelled at him to stop. My mom knew I needed a break to understand why I received the sprint signal. Reg didn’t want to stop because we were running into the outgoing tide.

My mom took a quick break. I was in mild hypothermia. I didn’t really understand it, but I did everything I could to sprint faster. I saw Mom get in the skiff, heading for shore. We had reached flat water. I was almost crying; I was so happy.

Then I saw the bottom under me. I stood up and walked ashore. Some people were picking up shells, but they quickly backed up when I walked past the water’s edge.

I reached France after 7 hours and 40 minutes. I broke the record by 1 hour and 5 minutes. It was 3:45 pm.

Reg called Mrs. Scott and said Dean out 3:45 pm. She said I would be back next year to try again. The pilot called her back and said it was a new men’s and women’s world record. The first person I hugged was my mom, then everyone else on the boat.”

Top 12 Fastest English Channel Crossings in History

1. Andreas Waschburger, Germany, E-F, 8 September 2023 in 6 hours 45 minutes 25 seconds at the age of 36
2. Trent Grimsey, Australia, E-F, 8 September 2012 in 6 hours 55 minutes 0 seconds at the age of 24
3. Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria, E-F, 24 August 2007 in 6 hours 56 minutes 50 seconds at the age of 30
4. Christof Wandratsch, Germany, E-F, 1 August 2005 in 7 hours 3 minutes 52 seconds at the age of 38
5. Yuri Kudinov, Russia, E-F, 24 August 2007 in 7 hours 5 minutes 42 seconds at the age of 28
6. Rostislav Vítek, Czech Republic, E-F, August 2009 in 7 hours 16 minutes 25 seconds at the age of 33
7. Chad Hundeby, USA, E-F, 27 September 1994 in 7 hours 17 minutes 0 seconds at the age of 23
8. Christof Wandratsch, Germany, E-F, 20 August 2003 in 7 hours 20 minutes 0 seconds at the age of 36
9. Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria, E-F 22 August 2006 in 7 hours 21 minutes 8 seconds at the age of 29
10. David Meca Medina, Spain, E-F, 29 August 2005 in 7 hours 22 minutes 0 seconds at the age of 31
11. Yvetta Hlaváčová, Czech Republic, E-F, 5 August 2006 in 7 hours 25 minutes 15 seconds at the age of 31
12. Penny Lee Dean, USA, E-F, 29 July 1978 in 7 hours 40 minutes 0 seconds at the age of 23

Top 10 Fastest Catalina Channel Crossings in History

1. 7 hours 15 minutes 55 seconds by Penny Lee Dean, USA, Mainland-Catalina in September 1976
2. 7 hours 27 minutes 25 seconds by Grace van der Byl, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 2012
3. 7 hours 37 minutes 31 seconds by Pete Huisveld, USA, Mainland-Catalina in August 1992
4. 7 hours 41 minutes 14 seconds by John York, USA, Mainland-Catalina in September 1978 (first leg of a 2-way)
5. 7 hours 43 minutes 6 seconds by Karen Burton, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 1994
6. 7 hours 55 minutes 6 seconds by Hank Wise, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 2018
7. 8 hours 4 minutes 12 seconds by Ceinwen Elizabeth Roberts, Australia, Catalina-Mainland in September 2014
8. 8 hours 5 minutes 44 seconds by Todd Robinson, USA, Catalina-Mainland in August 2009
9. 8 hours 7 minutes 3 seconds by Hank Wise, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 2010
10. 8 hours 7 minutes 37 seconds by Hank Wise, USA, Mainland-Catalina in June 2015

https://youtu.be/plxFMkLOavA

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