Mona Vale marathon swimmer Chloe McCardel’s bid for men’s English Channel crossing record
Northern Beaches endurance athlete Chloe McCardel couldn’t even swim until she was 11. Now she teaches it and has her sights set on an extraordinary English Channel crossing record.
Manly
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One of the few things Chloe McCardel probably doesn’t have to worry about over the next few days is having enough leg room on her flight to the UK.
On Wednesday she was rushing to relocate her dogs interstate, do last minute media, get some extra training in and generally ready herself to fly out of Australia for a potential English Channel attempt on Sunday after being given an exemption to fly.
But 35-year-old McCardel is used to overcoming far bigger obstacles as a multiple record holding endurance swimmer, who for two months during the recent Covid lockdowns was unable to train in a pool.
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“I’ve been on tenterhooks, been trying to get the extra training in,’’ said McCardel, who regularly swims between Shelly Beach and Manly and swam “with the turtles and eels” at Manly Dam to get used to the expected 12-18 degree water temperature expected in the UK.
McCardel, the only kid at her school to not know how to swim at 11, has now notched up 31 crossings of the English Channel between 2009 and 2018.
Her long list of feats include being the first Australian – and only fourth person – to complete a triple non-stop crossing, a world record for the longest unassisted ocean swim in the Bahamas in 2014 (124.4km), world record holder for single Channel crossings in a season in 2016 (eight) and world record holder for single crossings in a week in 2015 (three).
She has also crossed the English Channel more than any Australian, after surpassing Des Renford’s record of 19 back in 2016.
Now she has the men’s world record for the number of crossings of the English Channel in her sights – leaving on Thursday for the first of four swims required to eclipse the mark.
“It will be a real achievement to do so many, one a week for four weeks,’’ she said.
“I’ve got 31 crossings and the mens world record is 34. I need to complete four crossings this seasons and I have four booking all within a month.’’
McCardel said the reason she is heading to the UK is simple.
“I use my swimming as a vehicle to inspire people,’’ she said.
“The actual process of going on a journey, bringing people on with me and the way I can move people, inspire people to get fit or go for their first 5km run or do their first ocean swim … that’s what drives me.’’
FACTS AND FIGURES
The swim starts at Samphire Hoe, near Dover, and finishes at or close to Cap Gris Nez in France.
To do four crossings, McCardel will use 158,000 swim strokes.
The four crossings will total 136km.
Each crossing will take an average of 11 hours.,
She will stop every 30 minutes for a liquid feed.
A drink bottle on a rope will be lowered and she will take 20 seconds to drink it.
She plans to have around five to seven days between each swim.
If she successfully breaks the men’s world record next month, she will become second on the overall world record list, behind retired English swimmer Alison Streeter MBE who has completed the crossing 43 times.
No wetsuits are allowed, but swimmers are able to grease their body, se goggles, wear one cap, nose clip, ear plugs and one swimming costume.
Swimmers are not allowed to touch their accompanying boat or any people in the boat during their swim.