- Who
- Siân Clement
- What
- 14:01:00 hour(s):minute(s):second(s)
- Where
- United Kingdom (Swansea)
- When
The fastest female (and person overall) to swim across the Bristol Channel between Ilfracombe (north Devon) and Swansea (south Wales), UK – a distance of approximately 25 miles (40 kilometres) – is Siân Clement (UK) who completed the swim in 14 hours 1 minute on 23 July 2016 as confirmed by the Bristol Channel Swimming Association. Clement was piloted by Andrew Edwards in the vessel Big Blue.
In 2022, Clement went on to become the first woman to ever complete the Original Triple Crown of open-water swimming which comprises traversing the English Channel, the North Channel and the Bristol Channel. Her other two swims were as follows: North Channel: 12 hours 45 minutes 32 seconds on 10 July 2022; English Channel: 12 hours 48 minutes on 1 July 2009. Clement's total aggregate swim time of 39 hours 34 minutes 32 seconds represents the fastest time to complete the Original Triple Crown by a female swimmer.
The first person to swim across the Bristol Channel between Ilfracombe and Swansea was Gethin Jones (UK), who completed the swim in 21 hours 39 minutes 34 seconds on 12–13 September 2009.
