36 years ago, the American team of Chad Hundeby, Martha Jahn, Karen Burton, Jay Wilkerson, Dirk Bouma, and Sid Cassidy [photo shown above on right] set a England-to-France relay record in 6 hours 52 minutes and carried on to also set the France-to-England relay record with a second leg in 7 hours 26 minutes.
That two-way record of 14 hours 18 minutes has stood the test of time, despite modern-day advantages in swimwear and GPS.
But the conditions in the English Channel are setting the stage for a possible (probable?) breaking (shattering?) of the America’s long-standing records – and the overall solo one-way crossing record of Andreas Waschburger who swam from England to France in 6 hours 45 minutes at the age of 36
The Spirit of Great British, An All-Start Team
Tomorrow, Red Top Performance coach Tim Denyer (47, Great Britain, @redtopperformance) is strategizing with an all-start British team of Olympic swimmers – both in the pool and open water. The team is called The Spirit of Great Britain.
The water conditions and temperature (18°C) look optimal for a record-setting performance.
The team will be started by Hector Pardoe (25, Great Britain, World Aquatics bio here, @hectorpardoe), a 2-time Olympic marathon swimmer including 6th finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Coach Denyer said, “I’ve decided Hector will swim first. I just think he’s on paper the fastest over an hour. I’ll wait till later to decide the rest. For the other legs, I will look at forecast later. I want the out-and-out pool swimmers [during] the flatter sections. I want the true open water swimmers to do the areas where I know jellyfish will be.”
After Pardoe, Coach Denyer has a full slate of studs to choose from: 3-time Olympic gold medalist Tom Dean, MBE (26, Great Britain, World Aquatics bio here, @tomdean00), British national champion and 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships competitor Joshua Gammon (23, Great Britain, World Aquatics bio here, @josh.gammon), Lake Windermere course record holder George Taplin (28, Great Britain, @georgetaplin), 2020 Tokyo Olympic finalist and 2024 Paris Olympics distance freestyler Daniel Jervis (30, Great Britain, World Aquatics bio here, @danieljervis1), and 2024 Paris Olympics marathon swimmer Toby Robinson (30, Great Britain, World Aquatics bio here, @tobiasrobinson).
The team is a go for a morning start on September 22nd under the guidance of a pair of famed International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Pilots Reg Brickell, Jr. and Ray Brickell under the auspices of the Channel Swimming Association.
The Yanks came and went. Tomorrow is the time for the British to take their best shot at the Channel.
We’ll be posting updates throughout the crossing here.
The Spirit of Great Britain’s live tracker is here.
Royal Life Saving Society UK
They are attempting to break the course record as a charity event for the Royal Life Saving Society UK in a campaign called Back the Swim. Break the Record. Save Lives.
See here to support their fundraising efforts where a documentary film team are with the British team.
But the Channel is the Channel and anything can happen in the 19°C water between England and France.
Will history be made? Or will the record remain?
Stay tuned.
For more information, visit here.
Breaking News: The order of swimmers has been decided:
1. Hector Pardoe
2. George Taplin
3. Toby Robinson
4. Daniel Jervis
5. Tom Dean
6. Josh Gammon
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