Some of the most famous English Channel crossings in history have been swum breaststroke.

Captain Matthew Webb is the most famous breaststroker with his pioneering crossing in 1875.

Another breaststroker who made headlines was 28-year-old Norman Leslie Derham [shown below] who crossed in a quick 13 hour 55 minute in 1926 from Cap-Gris-Nez, France to St. Margaret’s Bay in England. But he won a £1,000 prize (worth £79,341 or US$107,395 today) from the News of the World for being the first British subject to beat the record set by American swimmer Gertrude Ederle earlier in 1926. Derham’s record was broken 79 years later by Frederik Jacques and remains the second fastest breaststroke crossing in history.

Breaststroke Crossings of the English Channel

1. Matthew Webb (Great Britain) on August 24th 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes at the age of 27
2. Norman Leslie Derham (Great Britain) on September 16th 1926 in 13 hours 55 minutes at the age of 28
3. Ivy Gill (Smalley) (Great Britain) on October 13th 1927 in 15 hours 9 minutes at the age of 24
4. Pierre Van Vooren (Belgium) on August 4th 1963 in 15 hours 9 minutes at the age of 29
5. Pierre Van Vooren (Belgium) on July 9th 1965 in 17 hours 55 minutes at the age of 31
6. Ulrich Haevecker (Germany) on August 28th 1982 in 17 hours 5 minutes
7. Richard Blatny (Czech Republic) on August 30th 1998 in 23 hours 38 minutes at the age of 38
8. Jackie MacDonald (Great Britain) in 2000 in 21 hours 19 minutes
9. Patrick Ghysel (France) on August 4th 2002 in 14 hours 42 minutes at the age of 41
10. Frederik Jacques (France) on August 16th 2005 in 13 hours 31 minutes at the age of 27
11. Tony Bailey (Great Britain) on September 6th 2014 in 25 hours 56 minutes at the age of 48
12. Philip Yorke (Great Britain) on August 17th 2015 in 18 hours 2 minutes at the age of 43
13. Abhejali Bernardová (Czech Republic) on July 28th 2026 in 17 hours 38 minutes at the age of 49
14. Iancu Avram (Romania) on August 16th 2026 in 24 hours 46 minutes at the age of 49.

Avram Iancu (50, Romania, MSF bio here, @avramiancu) completed history’s 13th breaststroke crossing in 24 hours 46 minutes to join the 24-hour Club. He described as “a crossing of almost unbearable physical pain and psychological torment. It was the hardest swim of my career [that includes several long stage swims including the Triple Crown of River Stage Swims and two previous English Channel crossings in 2016 in 17 hours 54 minutes and 2024 in 15 hours 30 minutes] with special thanks to my support team Radu Ileanǎ, Beniamin Coțan, Claudiu Lupaș and Andrada Iancu.“

The Modern Breaststroker

Breaststroker of 100 Years Ago

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