- Who
- Chloë McCardel
- What
- 44 total number
- Where
- France ()
- When
Chloë McCardel (Australia) swam across the English Channel a record 44 times between 21 September 2009 and 13 October 2021, more times than any other individual. Her 44th crossing from Kent, England, to near Pointe de la Courte Dune, France – a distance of about 33 km (20.5 mi) – took 10 hours 1 minute as ratified by the Channel Swimming Association.
McCardel takes the "Queen of the English Channel" crown from Alison Streeter (UK), whose 43 swims between 1982 and 2004 stood as the record for 17 years. McCardel said: "Alison Streeter was my idol when I was moving to Channel swimming – she inspired me to continue to push my boundaries."
The Australian endurance swimmer completed eight of her English Channel crossings in 2016 (the most times in one calendar year) and became the fourth person to perform a non-stop triple crossing on 8–9 August 2015.
The male record for English Channel swim crossings is currently 34, set by Kevin Murphy (UK) between 1968 and 2006.
McCardel also currently holds the female record for the longest distance ocean swim, as recognized by the Marathon Swimmers Federation, swimming 124.4 km (77.3 mi) between Lighthouse Beach on Eleuthera Island across the Exuma Sound to Nassau in the Bahamas on 20–22 October 2014, with a total swim duration of 41 hours 21 minutes.
