Australian ultra-marathon swimmer Chloë McCardel has become the first person for 25 years and only the fourth person ever to successfully complete a three-way English Channel crossing.

McCardel’s total swim time for the three crossings was 36 hours 12 minutes. Her final crossing from the UK took 13 hours 30 minutes. McCardel’s success came despite strong tides that meant she had to battle to reach the French shore on both the first and third legs of the crossing.
It was McCardel’s third attempt at a triple crossing. To train for the challenge she completed three separate Channel crossings last month and then spent 20 hours training in Loch Ness in water of 11 degrees Celsius. The water temperature in the Channel was between 15.5 and 16.5 degrees.
Last year McCardel set the world record for the longest unassisted ocean swim by swimming from South Eleuthera Island to Nassau, Bahamas. Although she swam 126km, the swim was ratified at a straight line distance of 124.4km (77.3 miles) in 41hrs 21mins.