His project was thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, Australian Chloe McCardel completed her 35th English Channel crossing on Sunday. Leaving Dover on Saturday evening, on the English side, she reached 10:40 am later Wissant, in Pas-de-Calais, said her team and the Channel Swimming Association.
The 35-year-old swimmer, already the record holder for the longest unassisted ocean swim (124 kilometers), thus surpassed the men's record for the number of crossings. However, it remains below the performance of Briton Alison Streeter, who has crossed the Channel 43 times.
“It was more difficult than I had imagined. There was a risk of cancellation due to the thick fog which made the Channel crossing dangerous, ”she said in a statement.
"Do not stay on land for more than 10 minutes in France"
She didn't just have to brave the weather conditions, currents and water temperature. Before that, due to a pandemic, he had to obtain an exceptional authorization from the Australian authorities to travel to the United Kingdom.
Then, the quarantine imposed by the British authorities on visitors from France, decided a few hours before his departure on Saturday evening, almost complicated his return to England. She explained to the PA agency that she had obtained assurances from the authorities that she would not be subject to it and was able to leave by boat immediately after making landfall in Wissant.
According to the Channel Swimming Association, she explained to the BBC, "Channel crossings are authorized as long as physical distancing is respected and that one does not stay on land for more than ten minutes, as it is. is usually the case for us ”. “My muscle pains are much stronger than expected, I don't think I want to cross the Channel again for a while,” she assured PA.