It was August 6, 1926, the day that an American, Gertrude Ederle, was poised to become the first woman to swim the English Channel. Only five men had ever swum the waterway before. The challenges included quickly changing tides, six-foot waves, frigid temperatures and lots of jellyfish. That day, Ederle not only made it across, she beat all of the previous men's times -- swimming 35 miles in 14 and a half hours.

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a&e television networks, llc, gertrude ederle, the first woman to swim the english channel, swim the english channel, famous people in swimming and diving

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 3 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)