A marathon swimmer is set to undertake a world record 44th crossing of the English Channel. Chloe McCardel, 36, was born and raised in Australia and still lives there, but spends “two to three months of virtually every year” in the UK preparing for and taking part in her channel crossings.
Having first swum the famously treacherous 34km (21 miles) stretch of water in 2009, she has now completed it 41 times and is currently in New Romney, Kent preparing for the three crossings which will take her past the current record of 43, which is held by Briton Alison Streeter.
“The English Channel feels like my spiritual home so I have a draw to come back here every year,” she told the PA news agency.
A competitive junior swimmer in the pool as a teenager, Ms McCardel came to open water competitions after making a vow to herself to become “the best in the world at something”.
She tried triathlon and running marathons before eventually turning to open water swimming, and immediately “fell in love” with the sport.
