Jenny Kammersgaard

Athlete IDATH-1000801

DENDenmarkSport:Swimming

Biography

Jenny Marie Ingeborg Kammersgaard grew up in Dagnæs, near Horsens in Denmark. She used a slow breaststroke with her head above the water and trained for long swims in Horsens Fjord. In 1937 she tried to cross the Kattegat from Sjællands Odde to Jutland. The doctor on her escort boat stopped her first attempt. On her return she reached the Danish coast north of Grenå after more than 29 hours in the water.

Kammersgaard and journalist Niels Anesen wrote a book about the swim and travelled around Denmark giving talks. She crossed the Baltic from Gedser towards Warnemünde in 1938, and later trained as a swimming teacher in Berlin. She also earned her living as a seamstress.

In August 1950 she was one of two women to finish the first Daily Mail Channel race from France to England. The federation's historical entry gives 16 hours 30 minutes, while the following year's press dossier gives 16 hours 27 minutes. In 1951 she returned for the second race and finished in 15 hours 38 minutes.

Her later swims included Læsø to Frederikshavn in 1959 and shorter swims in icy water in the 1970s. Her daughter and granddaughter brought her scrapbooks, letters and awards back to Horsens in 2013 for the local sports archive.

English Channel record

Danish breaststroke swimmer in the 1950 and 1951 Daily Mail Channel races

Also recorded as Jenny Marie Ingeborg Kammersgaard.

Crossing details, recordings & verification

Full name: Jenny Marie Ingeborg Kammersgaard
Born: 24 July 1918 in Horsens, Denmark
Country in the federation records: Denmark
Stroke: Head-up breaststroke, described in Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon
Working life: Seamstress and swimming teacher
Family collection: Horsens Sports Archive received her swimming memorabilia from her daughter and granddaughter in 2013.
Died: 29 November 1997 in Herlev, Denmark

Selected Channel swims

First Daily Mail race, France to England

Solo · 1-way

France → England

Tuesday, 22 August 1950 (recorded swim date)

Tuesday, 22 August 1950 (completion)

Elapsed time · 16h 30m 0s

Start clock · Clock time not confirmed

Finish clock · 19:04:00 · Time zone not specified

Qualification · Results give 16h 30m, while a later press dossier gives 16h 27m. Historical accounts also differ between 22 and 23 August 1950.

Sources disagree · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.

Second Daily Mail race, France to England

Solo · 1-way

France → England

Thursday, 16 August 1951 (recorded swim date)

Thursday, 16 August 1951 (departure)

Thursday, 16 August 1951 (completion)

Elapsed time · 15h 38m 0s

Start clock · 07:30:00 · Time zone not specified

Finish clock · 23:08:00 · Time zone not specified

Qualification · The selected 15h 38m crossing is recorded on 16 August 1951. A later profile gives 30 July, and published race names differ.

Sources disagree · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.

Other events & swims

Horsens Fjord, Snaptun to Horsens Harbour

Open water swimming · Solo

1936 · exact day not confirmed

Horsens Fjord, Denmark

Completed the swim to Horsens Harbour.

Published distance · 17 km

Published elapsed time · 7h 2m

Published account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.

Øresund, Viken to Hornbæk

Open water swimming · Solo

1937 · exact day not confirmed

Øresund, Sweden to Denmark

Completed the crossing from Sweden to Denmark.

Published distance · 22 km

Published elapsed time · 7h 30m

Published account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.

Career milestones

Horsens Fjord

1936

Swam from Snaptun to Horsens Harbour in 7 hours 2 minutes.

Crossed the Kattegat

1937

Reached the Jutland coast on her second attempt after more than 29 hours.

Baltic crossing

1938

Swam from Gedser in Denmark to the German coast near Warnemünde.

First Daily Mail Channel race

1950-08-22

Recorded as the ninth finisher in the Dover race table. The dating and elapsed-time differences are detailed with the result.

Second English Channel solo

1951-08-16

Completed the second Daily Mail race in 15:38.

Læsø to Frederikshavn

1959

The Danish biographical dictionary records this later open-water crossing.

Swimming archive returned to Horsens

2013

Her family delivered memorabilia, including letters and scrapbooks, to the sports archive.

English Channel questions

Which English Channel swims are included for Jenny Kammersgaard?: The profile includes 2 selected solo performances. A continuous multi-way swim counts as one performance.
When was the first listed Channel swim?: The recorded swim date is Tuesday, 22 August 1950. Completion is recorded on Tuesday, 22 August 1950.
How long did that swim take?: The recorded 1-way solo time is 16h 30m 0s. Results give 16h 30m, while a later press dossier gives 16h 27m. Historical accounts also differ between 22 and 23 August 1950.

Achievements & next milestones

Achievements update from recorded results. A tick means the supporting results are verified.

No eligible completed results are linked yet. Link a completed result to start the achievement collection.

Next milestones

First recorded finish
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Latest results

Selected swimming performances appear in the English Channel record above.

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