Also recorded as Susan Oldham, Susan [Sue] Oldham.
Biography
Sue Oldham, also listed as Susan Oldham, developed her swimming career as an adult in Perth, Western Australia. In a 2013 interview she recalled joining a Masters club because swimming could fit around a job that involved frequent travel. Her early sessions were modest, but club friendships drew her into Rottnest Channel relay swimming and eventually longer individual challenges.
She began working with coach Pauline Pratt in 2003. Preparing for a Channel relay in 2006, she joined extra training with fellow swimmer Selwyn Jellie and then asked whether she could attempt a solo crossing herself. That summer she participated in the Masters relay and completed her own England-to-France swim. The historical record places her arrival at Cap Blanc Nez on 25 August, after 16 hours and three minutes. She was recognised as the oldest woman to cross at the time.
Oldham returned for another solo in 2010, completing 17 hours and 11 minutes and regaining the women’s age record. Her Channel involvement also continued through teamwork. In 2012 she joined Roger Allsopp, Kathy Phillips and Tom McCarthy in the four-person Barracudas Aquaholics relay. Her published account describes the swimmers taking one-hour turns and her final swim to the French shore. The team’s 15-hour-three-minute result is kept distinct from her two solo achievements.
Selected Channel swim records
First solo Channel crossing
Published account checked
Recorded swim date · Thursday, 24 August 2006 · Start or finish date not specified by the source
Elapsed swim time · 16h 3m 0s
Duration of the complete swim
Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Finished · Friday, 25 August 2006 · 15:28:00 · CS&PF comment explicitly says arrival 15:28 on 25 August; time zone unstated
Timing note · The generic record date is 24 August. Departure 23:25 is retained as a reported clock only; arrival on 25 August is explicit. No exact age is adopted because sources differ.
Format · Solo · 1-way
Direction · England → France
Departure · Samphire Hoe, England
Arrival · Cap Blanc Nez, France
Pilot / piloting team · Eddie Spelling
Escort vessel · Anastasia
Official observers · Mick Daly
Ratification / historical recognition · CS&PF (historical record attribution)
How this record was checked
CS&PF historical individual record 444068 identifies Australia, route, time and support, and explicitly states arrival on the 25th. Masters Swimming Australia’s contemporary page 8 independently reports the 25 August finish and 16:03. The historical record’s ratifying-organisation field is reported without claiming inspection of the original committee decision.
CS&PF historical record: Susan [Sue] Oldham, 2006
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Australia; 24 August 2006 record date; 16:03:00; Samphire Hoe to Cap Blanc Nez; explicit arrival 15:28 on 25 August; pilot Eddie Spelling, Anastasia, observer Mick Daly.
Limitations · Historical record names CS&PF as ratifier. Original committee decision/log not inspected. Age 60 differs from age 61 in contemporary Masters newsletter.
Masters Swimming Australia: October 2006 newsletter, page 8
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Names Sue Oldham, Westcoast Masters, 2006 relay participation and 25 August solo finish in 16:03; Pauline Pratt and group training.
Limitations · Reports age 61, versus 60 in the individual record. An internal July/August relay-date discrepancy is not resolved by guessing; no exact 2006 relay date is promoted.
Second solo Channel crossing
Published account checked
Recorded swim date · Sunday, 8 August 2010 · Start or finish date not specified by the source
Elapsed swim time · 17h 11m 0s
Duration of the complete swim
Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Finished · Exact finish date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Timing note · The row supplies departure 08:50:00 and arrival 02:01:00, without explicit phase dates or time zone. They remain prose; no next-day finish is inferred from arithmetic.
Format · Solo · 1-way
Direction · England → France
Arrival · Noires Mottes, France
Pilot / piloting team · Eddie Spelling
Escort vessel · Anastasia
Official observers · Irene Wakeham
Ratification / historical recognition · CS&PF (historical record attribution)
How this record was checked
CS&PF individual historical record 444398 was inspected, including route, elapsed time, crew and age-record comment. Its later relay story independently recalls the successful 2010 solo. No original ratification decision or observer report was inspected.
CS&PF historical record: Susan [Sue] Oldham, 2010
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Australia; 8 August 2010; England to France; 17:11:00; departure 08:50 and arrival 02:01; Eddie Spelling, Anastasia; observer Irene Wakeham; Noires Mottes landing.
Limitations · Generic date only; departure/arrival phase dates and clock standard not explicitly supplied. No new ratification claim is inferred from the database field.
CS&PF: Barracudas Aquaholics relay story, 2012
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Names Sue Oldham, Roger Allsopp, Kathy Phillips and Tom McCarthy; 15:03 team crossing, 23 July 2012; Samphire Hoe, Eddie Spelling and Anastasia.
Limitations · Narrative mentions an early 22 July meeting but dates success 23 July; no departure date or clock is inferred. Team result is not an individual solo mark.
Barracudas Aquaholics — four-person relay
Published account checked
Four swimmers took one-hour turns. Oldham describes swimming the final portion to France.
Four-person relay. The elapsed time belongs to the team; no formal committee ratification decision was inspected.
Barracudas Aquaholics · Roger Allsopp · Kathy Phillips · Tom McCarthy · Sue Oldham
Team elapsed time · 15h 3m
Duration of the team’s complete swim
Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Finished · Monday, 23 July 2012 · Clock time not confirmed
Timing note · Published narratives mention meeting early on 22 July but date the successful swim 23 July. Start date and all clocks remain unresolved; no date is invented to reconcile the narrative.
Format · Relay · 1-way
Direction · England → France
Departure · Samphire Hoe, England
Pilot / piloting team · Eddie Spelling
Escort vessel · Anastasia
How this record was checked
The federation-hosted team story and Oldham’s signed first-person account both name Sue with Roger Allsopp, Kathy Phillips and Tom McCarthy and give 15:03. The account explicitly describes finishing on 23 July. This is a documented four-person team performance, not a solo crossing or a committee ratification claim.
CS&PF: Barracudas Aquaholics relay story, 2012
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Names Sue Oldham, Roger Allsopp, Kathy Phillips and Tom McCarthy; 15:03 team crossing, 23 July 2012; Samphire Hoe, Eddie Spelling and Anastasia.
Limitations · Narrative mentions an early 22 July meeting but dates success 23 July; no departure date or clock is inferred. Team result is not an individual solo mark.
Sue Oldham’s relay account, published by Myrtleville Swimmers
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · First-person account names the four relay swimmers, hour-long rotations, and completion on 23 July 2012 in 15:03.
Limitations · Documented athlete account; no committee ratification record inspected. Meeting-date narrative is inconsistent with a simple 15-hour timeline, so start date remains unresolved.
AUS