Bondi lifesaver Cyril Baldock rewrites history books by becoming the oldest man to swim the English Channel

BONDI lifesaver Cyril Baldock has become the oldest person to swim the English Channel.

Cyril Baldock is pictured as he swims the English Channel, becoming the oldest person to do so. Picture: Supplied.

BONDI lifesaver Cyril Baldock has become the oldest person to swim the English Channel.

The 70-year-old completed the about 34km swim in 12 hours and 45 minutes and celebrated by cracking a coldie at the finish line.

“I’m having a couple of beers for medicinal purposes only, to make myself sleep,” Baldock told AAP.

The beer tasted a lot better than the large quantities of sea water he swallowed during the choppy crossing which left him feeling “pretty crook”.

Baldock, aged 70 years and nine months, has replaced Englishman Roger Allsopp in the record books.

Allsopp was five months younger when, in 2011, he took almost 18 hours to cross the Channel.

While the Australian’s time was much quicker there was a period towards the end when Baldock wasn’t sure he would reach the French coastline.

A Twitter image of Cyril Baldock as he swims the English Channel, preparing for the task with his daughter. Picture: Twitter/Cyril Baldock

Cyril is the oldest man to swim the English Channel

Mr Baldock knew how tough the feat would be, having completed the channel swim in 1985 at 41 years old.

Not that experience made the gruelling slog any easier,

“Around the 10-hour mark I had a bad half-hour and was starting to worry a bit,” he said after returning to Dover on the boat that had earlier escorted him to Cap Gris Nez.

“The arms were really sore, and I didn’t seem to be making much ground, but I kicked on again.”

The Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club member previously told the Wentworth Courier he was aiming to fulfil a long-kept promise to legendary swimmer Des Renford.

BONDI DUO TACKLE ENGLISH CHANNEL

He is doing the swim about August 23 to keep a promise to an old friend and long-time mentor Des Renford, who died in 1999 and guided Mr Baldock through his first channel swim.

“Des was 58, and at that stage there was no way in the world that he wouldn’t have become the oldest, but he had a heart attack which stopped his long distance swimming and we spoke about it and I told him, I’m going to do that one day,” he said before the swim.

“Little did I know that, in the 30 years since it would extend by another 10 years.”

He has the record for now, but it could be short-lived with Brisbane woman Irene Keel, 73, also planning an attempt this week.

Baldock, impressively, will be cheering her on.

“The great part of it is, if she did it, Australians would then have the oldest man and the oldest woman,” he said.

“I’ll have held the oldest person for some time — that was the goal and that’s done — so I really hope she does (succeed).”

Baldock said he wont be making another channel crossing regardless of her result.

“I’ve hung my cap and goggles up as far as I’m concerned,” he said on Wednesday.

“You can’t go on forever doing that sort of thing — I’m nearly 71.” Baldock was fulfilling a decades-old promise to his former coach Des Renford by completing the crossing.