First person to swim the English Channel four times non-stop

On 17 September 2019, ultra-swimmer Sarah Thomas (USA) became the first person to swim across the English Channel four times consecutively without stopping, as ratified by the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation. Thomas set out from Shakespeare Beach in Dover, UK, at just after midnight on 15 September 2019, swimming to Cap Gris-Nez in northern France. After completing the journey three more times, she arrived back at Shakespeare Beach at 6.30 a.m. (BST) two days later – a cumulative swimming time of 54 hours 10 minutes.

The total distance swam should have been around 129 kilometres (80 miles), but owing to strong tidal currents Thomas ended up swimming around 209 kilometres (130 miles) – 60% longer than expected!

The legs of the journey took the following times:

Leg 1, UK to France: 11:26:50

Leg 2, France to UK: 12:41:14

Leg 3, UK to France: 12:58:16

Leg 4, France to UK: 17:05:40

Veteran long-distance swimmer Thomas has previously completed one-way crossings of the English Channel in 2012 and 2016.

Thomas completed treatment for breast cancer in summer 2018 and dedicated her record-breaking Channel swim to other survivors of the disease.