We are quick to cheer for talented athletes that show amazing ability and win countless awards. But largely forgotten is one women that did all this AND broke down formidable barriers. Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle became one of the world’s best athletes at a time when women were considered The Weaker Sex. One hundred years ago this courageous woman showed the world that women were not physically inferior and that they could compete on the same level as men.
Ederle’s determination showed started at age 5 when she contracted measles and was given up for dead. Despite suffering severe hearing loss, which would affect her throughout life, she then showed an intense eagerness to learn to swim. Her father assisted by tying a clothesline around her waist and Ederle learned to float and paddle in the Shrewsbury River, New Jersey, USA. Progressing to compete in local female swim competitions she would go on to set 29 world records in women’s freestyle swimming and emerge as one of USA’s brightest female swim stars, and subsequently compete at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Despite winning several medals she was not pleased with her performance, such where the high standards she set herself. Her next goal would be the seemingly impossible challenge of being the first women to swim the English Channel.
Up until 1925 only 5 men had ever completed swimming across the treacherous 21 mile wide English Channel. At the time it was considered women were physically inferior to men and could never compete on the same level. On August 6th, 1926 a 19yr old Ederle entered the frigid French water setting off on her quest to prove that females were not the weaker sex. Despite jellyfish, sharks and the negativity in the world’s press, she emerged onto the sands of England after 14hrs and 31 minutes of grit and determination. Her feat, by smashing the male record by 2 hours, would change the world’s opinion of what women could accomplish.
An epic movie has recently been released – Young Woman and the Sea, which showcases her amazing story.
