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First Woman to Swim the English Channel
EDERLE, Gertrude (1905-2003) American swimmer, Olympic champion, worlds record holder in 5 events. First woman to swim the English Channel from France to England on August 6, 1926. This event took 14 hours and 31 minutes. Large card with her printed portrait which she inscribes “To- A Sincere Admirer Janis Smith.” Ederle continues to write words of wisdom and signs her name in full. She continues to write her many accomplishments and records on both sides of the card. In one section she writes: “First woman (age 19) to conquer the cold, treacherous waters (we did battle a vicious storm on Aug.6th) of the English Channel. They kept saying: “It can’t be done!” But it took a “Yankee” to show them how. We were the first ever to use the “American Crawl” throughout the crossing…to-day every swimmer making the attempt, swims the fast crawl stroke.” Very unusual for her to write all of this information. She ends with: “I am a very proud American Athlete and thrilled to have brought the sport honors to America.” Very desirable and in fine condition. A museum piece........................$195.00
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