Women breaking swimming barriers this summer: Heather Roka & Elizabeth Beisel
This summer has seen some phenomenal achievements by female swimmers on different sides of the world.
Most recently, this week Olympic swimming medalist Elizabeth Beisel has become the first woman to complete the 10.4 mile swim from Rhode Island to Block Island, to raise money for cancer research in memory of her late father. And she did it all in 5 and a half hours.
Although Elizabeth Beisel has already won silver and bronze medals at the 2012 London Games, this swim was her first open-water trace and the distance was by far longer than any other swim she had undertaken in her athletics career.
She decided to take on the swimming challenge after her father, Ted, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer late last year. After finishing the swim she said: “I just wish my dad was here, honestly. I know that he’s here in spirit. Everybody who has fought cancer and who’s beat cancer, this is for them.”
Photo: The Providence Journal / Kris Craig
Beisel followed marathon swimming rules which required her to cover the entire distance without stopping – not even to rest for a moment – and she didn’t receive any assistance from the support boats. When she finished the swim, her Mum was ready waiting for her with a towel and a hug.
Beisel’s accomplishment comes at a time when women are smashing open water swims. Just last month Floridan woman Heather Roka completed an impressive English Channel double crossing (meaning she swam there, and back!) in 25 hours non-stop. We can’t even stay awake for 25 hours non-stop, let alone swim the channel! This 42-mile swim between Dover, England to Northern France, and back made her the 38th person in history to complete the gruelling feat. She said: “I figured it would definitely be the hardest thing I had ever attempted and definitely push me to the limits and really risk failure”.
Heather Roka. Photo by Andrew West/The News-Press, Landon Bost/Naples Daily News and Caitlyn Jordan/Naples Daily News
