This week's hero is...
Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle was born on October 23, 1905 in New York City. She became an avid swimmer very early in her life. When she was a teenager she left school and joined the Women's Swimming Association. In 1924, Ederle competed in the Summer Olympics in Paris. There she won one gold and two bronze medals. However, her biggest accomplishment would occur just about a year later. This would be when she took the challenge of trying to swim across the English Channel.
In early August of 1925, Ederle began her swim. However, after she swam 23 miles for more than 8 hours, she suffered a case of bad luck. During the swim, Ederle paused while facedown in the water. Fearing she was drowning, her coach ordered another swimmer to retrieve Gertrude from the water. As a result, her first attempt to cross the channel ended in failure. Despite this setback, she was not deterred from another attempt to swim across the channel.
A little after 7 AM on August 6, 1925, Gertrude Ederle once again, waded into the channel and began her long swim across. Despite very choppy seas, Ederle continued to swim nonstop all the way across the channel. During her swim, she kept herself focused by swimming to a tune in her head (it was called "Let me call you Sweetheart") to the rhythm of her stroke. After swimming for more than 14 hours Gertrude Ederle finally made it ashore on the English coast. Although the English Channel is only about 21 miles long the rough seas caused her to swam an estimated 35 miles. Her time of 14 hours and 31 minutes was a world record that stood for the next 25 years.
Upon her return to the United States, Gertrude Ederle received a hero's welcome. However, unknown to many Gertrude had been suffering from a major hearing problem since she was a child. Her time spent in the English Channel caused her hearing problem to get even worse. This caused to try and avoid the spotlight. In 1933, she suffered a bad fall that severely injured her back. As a direct result, here professional career as a competitive swimmer came to an end. To make matters worse, by now her hearing was almost gone.
Despite her competitive career being over, Gertrude Ederle eventually returned to the water. She got a job as a swim instructor at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965. From that point on she lived a modest and quiet life until her death on November 30, 2003. She was 98 years old. Gertrude Ederle was a very remarkable woman. While growing up she made many accomplishments while secretly dealing with a number of challenges. I believe that she is definitely someone to be held in high regard.
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/01/sports/gertrude-ederle-the-first-woman-to-swim-across-the-english-channel-dies-at-98.html
https://www.biography.com/people/gertrude-ederle-9284131
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gertrude-Ederle
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