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ENGEnglandSport:SwimmingMercedes Gleitze was an English endurance swimmer, born in Brighton on 18 November 1900. While working as a secretary in London she trained in the Thames, where she set a British women's distance-swimming record in 1923. She later left office work to prepare for a professional swimming career.
On Friday 7 October 1927, after seven unsuccessful attempts, she crossed the English Channel from France to England in 15 hours and 15 minutes. A later attempt to answer doubts about that achievement ended before she reached the opposite shore; it must not be counted as another successful crossing.
Gleitze went on to swim the Strait of Gibraltar in 1928 and undertake endurance events in Britain and overseas. Her swimming earnings helped establish a home for homeless people in Leicester. Her sporting and charitable work has since been recognised by swimming halls of fame and documented by her family.
First British woman across the Channel · 7 October 1927
Crossing details, recordings & verificationSolo swim
Friday, 7 October 1927
France → England
Elapsed time · 15h 15m
Start clock · 02:55 · Time zone not specified
Finish clock · 18:10 · Time zone not specified
Historical account checked · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.
Open-water swimming · Solo swim
Thursday, 5 April 1928 (event date)
Completed the strait; first person, according to Swim England.
Elapsed time · 12h 50m
Historical account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.
Pool swimming · Solo swim
Thursday, 18 May 1933 – Saturday, 20 May 1933
Corporation Baths, Worthing, England
Completed a 47-hour pool endurance swim.
Historical account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.
1923
Set a British women's record over the Putney–Silvertown course in 10h 45m.
7 October 1927
Completed her successful France–England crossing on her eighth formal attempt.
5 April 1928
Completed the strait in 12h 50m.
1933
Reached 47 hours in an endurance swim at Worthing; the Leicester home supported by her swimming earnings opened that year.
1969 / 2014
Inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and later the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
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First recorded finish
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Selected swimming performances appear in the English Channel record above.
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