Melbourne marathon swimmer Chloe McCardel set a new record for swimming the English Channel after completing her 44th crossing on Wednesday.
McCardel arrived at Pointe de la Courte Dune in the French commune of Audinghen after a 10-hour, 1-minute swim from Kent in south-eastern England.
"I'm buzzing right now," she said. "I had very favourable conditions … I really got to enjoy and soak in every minute, because I wasn't getting bashed around by the Channel, so, I've got energy, I feel great.
"Yeah, it's really, really amazing."
The 36-year-old had already surpassed the men's world record of 34 Channel crossings in 2020.
She then bettered her idol Alison Streeter's record of 43 crossings on Wednesday in what was her seventh successful Channel crossing of the year.
McCardel told RN Breakfast that she had been coveting the record for "a good five years".
"You've gotta do it for the love of it," she said.
"Marathon swimming is a sport that is so incredible and enthralling. You're out in nature … I just find it so compelling."
Now that she has the record, she said that she was unlikely to return.
"That record is really the most prestigious and I'm just to happy to have it now."
McCardel also holds the record of longest unassisted ocean swim, a 124km trek from South Eleuthera Island to Nassau in the Bahamas while, in 2015, she conquered a non-stop triple crossing of the Channel, taking almost 37 hours.
McCardel's record continues Australia's love of Channel swimming.
Australian Trent Grimsey holds the record for the fastest-ever crossing, at 6 hours, 55 minutes, which he achieved in 2012.
Reuters/ABC
