This weekend’s ceremony to induct four athletes into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame will also include a special moment to recognize the pioneering efforts of Greta Andersen with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Andersen, now 88 years old, is known mostly for becoming the first woman to complete multiple crossings of the English Channel, swimming across a total of six times between 1957 and 1965. She also earned popularity as the first person to swim a double crossing of the Catalina Channel, doing so in 1958.
Andersen burst onto the world’s stage when she won the gold medal for the 100-meter freestyle at the 1948 London Olympics, representing Denmark. She was the best female swimmer in the world over the next four years, but an injury to her leg weeks prior to the 1952 Olympics prevented her from repeating her London success. In 1953, she emigrated to Long Beach, Calif., where she met Tom Park, a record-setting Catalina Channel swimmer who convinced her she could make a lot of money as a professional marathon swimmer.
Racing against men, Andersen won the first of seven Around Atlantic City World Championship marathon swims in 1956, followed by the 50-mile Lake Michigan race, finishing 10 miles ahead of the field to capture the $25,000 prize money. In 1957, she entered her first Sir Billy Butlin English Channel marathon race and won. She repeated the feat in 1958 and 1959, receiving the Perpetual Trophy for her accomplishments.
Photo Courtesy: ISHOF
Andersen founded the Greta Swim School in 1960, and it continues to thrive in southern California. Her contributions to the sport gained her a place in the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1969.
ISHOF visits the Greta Swim School
“For her life in swimming,” says Bruce Wigo, President of the ISHOF, “as Olympic Champion, World Professional Marathon Champion, multiple world record holder from one-hundred yards to fifty miles, business woman, teacher and inspiration to men and women around the world, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is honored to recognize Greta Andersen Verres with the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award.”
The event will take place Friday at the Doubletree/Hilton Hotel in San Pedro, Calif., where the following will be inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame:
Swimmers: Forrest Nelson, Antonio Arguelles Diaz-Gonzalez, Martin Strel, George Park
Administrator: Marty Veen
Organizations: Varne Ridge Channel Swim Park, Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club
Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award: Dennis Miller
The International Swimming Hall of Fame contributed to this article.
