On the 23rd of August 2023, adaptive athlete and open water swimmer Sophie Etheridge achieved a remarkable feat by completing the longest solo swim across the English Channel, 30-mile (48km), in 29 hours and 4 minutes using only her arms .
She raised £6,185 (at the time of publication) for Starlight which you can learn more about on the JustGiving page here.
The map above has received quite a bit of attention, which she addresses in a Facebook post:
In the past few days, I have been tagged in multiple posts and made aware that my English Channel Swim track is being shared as an amusing, terrible map/track and as a result I have had comments about being drunk during the swim, avoiding small boats, avoiding sewage, I should have just taken the train or ferry, I didn’t even make it to France and even some comments on I should be a better swimmer.As a result, I have decided to share my track and explain a few things as I’m fed up with snarky comments.
This is my English Channel Swim track. What the image doesn’t show you and what is important is –– I completed my English Channel Swim in a time of 29 hours and 4 minutes, resulting in 3 different world records.– I swam through 2 nights– I am a wheelchair user and a disabled/adaptive swimmer. As a result of my disabilities I am unable to kick my legs.– The swim was on a large spring tide, and the zigzag pattern is where the tide changes every 6 hours. As it was a spring tide, I was pushed even further up/down the channel each time the tide changed.– I raised £6000 for charity, which in turn meant that over 1000 swimming teachers were trained to become disability specialists so that more people with disabilities can learn to swim in a safe and nurturing environment.
What I’m trying to say is that my swim was incredible, a show of true grit and determination, and showed that those with disabilities shouldn’t be overlooked.My swim went on far longer than I could ever have expected or imagined, but I crawled up a beach in Calais in 29 hours and 4 minutes and became the 3112th person to swim the English Channel Solo.That is what matters.
Sophie lives with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and fibromyalgia—conditions that cause chronic pain and hypersensitivity, particularly in her legs, which meant she could only use her arms.
Her journey began at Shakespeare Beach in Dover, UK, and concluded in Calais, France, after 29 hours and 4 minutes, marking the longest recorded one-way solo English Channel swim.
Sophie undertook this challenge to raise awareness for swimmers with disabilities and to support the Swimming Teachers Association’s STARLIGHT campaign, which focuses on training swimming teachers to work with individuals with disabilities.
Throughout the swim, Sophie faced numerous challenges, including managing severe pain, battling sea sickness, and navigating through waves and passing vessels.
Her determination and mental resilience were pivotal in overcoming these obstacles.
She expressed immense gratitude for her support crew, whose encouragement and strategic adjustments, such as attaching fairy lights to the boat for guidance during night-time, were instrumental in her successful crossing.
Sophie’s achievement has been widely recognized, and she continues to inspire many through her advocacy for inclusivity in swimming.
Here’s a bit more background about Sophie (from her JustGiving page):
Sophie, aged 31 years and who grew up in Hastings by the sea, is a Disabled Marathon Swimmer and an STA Open Water Coach, and by taking on this huge challenge, she hopes to raise awareness of open water swimmers with disabilities and show what those with disabilities can achieve with the correct support and people around them.
The first contact Sophie had with swimming and the STA, was at just 18 months when she first learned to swim; as a teenager, she volunteered as a swimming teacher and completed her lifeguarding qualifications. Through the Hastings Voluntary Lifeguarding club, Sophie was introduced to sea swimming and open water swimming and instantly fell in love with it and, as they say – the rest is history!
At age 18, like many, Sophie went to university and continued teaching swimming.
However, in her 2nd year, she was knocked off her bike by a car, and this accident eventually led to her being diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and, ultimately becoming an ambulant wheelchair user.
Four years later, Sophie decided to try getting back into swimming; she struggled to get in the pool because of the pain but after 6 months Sophie was ready for the challenge of getting a wetsuit on and getting into open water; a day she honestly thought would never come.
It has not been easy and Sophie is still in incredible pain, but since then, she has completed many open water swimming events, including an English Channel Relay in 2022.
In this time, Sophie has also trained as a swimming teacher, become an STA Level 2 Open Water Swimming Coach, founded the largest community of open water swimmers with disabilities that exists, and campaigned for swimming to become more inclusive and become an STA Brand Ambassador.
For those interested in learning more about her experience, Sophie has shared insights in a Q&A session, which can be viewed below.
Peter Troy says
Wonderful true story, congratulations to Sophie. An inspiration for many. My wife’s school friend Sally Minty (now Sally Minty-Gravett) has swum the English Channel numerous times over many decades and probably holds her own records as a legendary swimmer. To everyone who puts themselves to the test (voluntarily) deserves applause.