AUSAustralia

Susie Maroney

Channel soloist at fifteen · 1991 women’s double-crossing record

Also recorded as Susan Jean Maroney, Suzie Maroney.

Recorded full name: Susan Jean Maroney
Birth year: 1974
First Channel age: 15, in 1990
1990 solo: England to France, 8:29
1991 double: England–France–England, CSA time 17:14
National honour: Medal of the Order of Australia, 1993
Hall of Fame: International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, class of 2005
Ocean-swim distinction: Her later Caribbean swims used protective equipment, including a shark cage.

Biography

Susie Maroney emerged from Sydney swimming as a teenager with an appetite for long distances. Born in 1974, she was competing in swimming carnivals at seven and finished second in an Australian 16-kilometre marathon at fourteen. Her early international career soon included the English Channel and major professional open-water races.

In 1990, aged fifteen, she swam from England to France in eight hours twenty-nine minutes. Her performance earned the season’s fastest-solo and fastest-woman awards from the Channel Swimming Association. She returned in 1991 for a continuous England–France–England swim, completing the double in the association’s recorded seventeen hours fourteen minutes and setting the women’s record.

Maroney’s swimming also took her around Manhattan and onto the international marathon circuit. Later, her ambitions expanded to much longer Caribbean routes. She completed Cuba to Florida in 1997 and Mexico to Cuba in 1998 using a protective shark cage; the latter also involved a stinger suit. These assisted ocean projects form a separate part of her career from her Channel performances.

Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1993, she retired from marathon swimming in 2003. Her later public work has included speaking and charitable ambassador roles. She entered the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005, recognising a career that combined fast competitive swims with unusually long ocean expeditions.

Selected Channel swim records

First Channel solo, aged fifteen

Ratifying body's record checked

Earned CSA’s fastest-solo and fastest-woman awards for 1990. ABC later republished archival footage of her French landing.

Recorded swim date · Tuesday, 31 July 1990 · Start or finish date not specified by the source

Elapsed swim time · 8h 29m

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 · Dover.UK.com supplies the swim date without identifying its start/finish role. No departure or arrival clock was located.

Format · Solo · 1-way

Direction · England → France

Ratification / historical recognition · Channel Swimming Association

How this record was checked

CSA individual record 2855 confirms Australia, the one-way route, 1990 and 8:29. Dover.UK.com supplies 31 July. ABC’s 2016 programme identifies archival coverage of the fifteen-year-old finishing in 8:29. Pilot, escort boat and observer remain unverified.

Channel Swimming Association: Susie Maroney, 1990

Checked 2026-10-31

Dover.UK.com: Susie Maroney, 31 July 1990

Checked 2026-10-31

ABC 7.30: Susie Maroney interview and archival Channel footage, 11 March 2016

Checked 2026-10-31

Women’s double-crossing record

Sources disagree

A single continuous two-way attempt; its two legs are not counted as separate attempts.

Elapsed swim time · 17h 14m

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 · Dover.UK.com dates the swim 22 July 1991; Guinness gives 23 July. Neither establishes start and finish phases, so no exact calendar day is assigned here. CSA and Guinness give 17:14; the Hall of Fame biography gives 17:15. No clock times or leg splits were verified.

Format · Solo · 2-way

Direction · England → France → England

Ratification / historical recognition · Channel Swimming Association

How this record was checked

CSA individual record 2449 confirms the successful two-way swim and 17:14, also supported by Guinness. The conflicting day and Hall of Fame minute remain explicit. This is a source reconciliation, not a new ratification. No original observer log or pilot details were located.

Channel Swimming Association: Susie Maroney, 1991

Checked 2026-10-31

Dover.UK.com: Susie Maroney, 22 July 1991

Checked 2026-10-31

Guinness World Records: fastest female double Channel crossing

Checked 2026-10-31

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame: Susie Maroney

Checked 2026-10-31

Other events & swims

Manhattan Island Marathon Swim

Open-water swimming · Race

Sunday, 19 August 1990 (event date)

Manhattan, New York, USA

Won the overall race.

Elapsed time · 7h 0m 27s

Placing / category · 1st overall

Published account checked

How this event was checked

NYOW row 239 agrees with the IMSHOF biography’s 1990 overall win and Channel identity. A conflicting secondary summary is excluded.

New York Open Water: historical Manhattan results

Checked 2026-10-31

Limitations · Retrospective table; selected historical rows have no sanctioning-body entry.

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame: Susie Maroney

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Channel swimmer and overall Manhattan wins in 1990 and 1994.

Manhattan Island Marathon Swim

Open-water swimming · Race

Saturday, 20 August 1994 (event date)

Manhattan, New York, USA

Won the overall race.

Elapsed time · 7h 8m 10s

Placing / category · 1st overall

Published account checked

How this event was checked

NYOW row 331; IMSHOF independently identifies the 1994 overall win and the same Australian Channel swimmer. No historical sanction entry.

New York Open Water: historical Manhattan results

Checked 2026-10-31

Limitations · Retrospective table; selected historical rows have no sanctioning-body entry.

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame: Susie Maroney

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Channel swimmer and overall Manhattan wins in 1990 and 1994.

Career milestones

First Channel solo

31 July 1990

Published swim record dates her 8:29 England-to-France crossing to this day.

Women’s double-crossing record

July 1991

Completed England–France–England in the CSA-listed 17:14; sources disagree on the calendar day.

Australian honour

1993

Received the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to sport.

Cuba to Florida

1997

Completed the route using a protective shark cage.

Mexico to Cuba

1998

Completed an assisted ocean swim reported at 38:33, using a shark cage and stinger suit.

Marathon retirement

2003

Retired after a career spanning Channel swims, international races and Caribbean expeditions.

Hall of Fame induction

2005

Recognised by the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

Recordings & media

ABC 7.30 (2016) — interview including archival Channel landing footage

Open media page

Trailer and media

Publisher or archive page inspected. This link is not an original continuous observer recording; video playback was not independently checked.

Link checked 2026-10-31

Susie Is A Fish (1996) — Screen Australia documentary catalogue, not a playback link

Open media page

Documentary

Publisher or archive page inspected. This link is not an original continuous observer recording; video playback was not independently checked.

Link checked 2026-10-31

English Channel questions

Which English Channel swims are included for Susie Maroney?: This profile includes 2 selected solo performances for Susie Maroney. It is a selected history, not a complete career total. A continuous multi-way swim counts as one performance.
When was Susie Maroney’s featured English Channel swim?: The featured swim is recorded on Tuesday, 31 July 1990. The source does not establish whether that date means departure or arrival.
How long did Susie Maroney’s featured Channel swim take?: The featured solo crossing has a published elapsed time of 8 hours and 29 minutes.

Biography sources