Born: October 23, 1906, New York, U.S.
Died: November 30, 2003, Wyckoff, New Jersey
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American swimmer, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Born in New York City, Ederle learnt to swim as a young child and began competing as a teenager. Between 1921 and 1925, she broke many United States and world swimming records. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Ederle won a gold medal in the 400-m (437-yd) freestyle relay and bronze medals in the 100-m (109-yd) and 400-m freestyle races.
When Ederle swam across the English Channel in 1926, she set a new-time record for the distance, swimming the 56 km (35 m) from Cap Gris-Nez, France, to Dover, England, in 14 hours 31 minutes. (The previous record had been 16 hours 23 minutes.) The feat propelled Ederle to stardom in the United States. She later became a professional swimmer and a swimming instructor.
