Gertrude Ederle: People Said Women Were Too Weak… She Swam the English Channel

A London newspaper wrote that women would always be the weaker sex.

On the same day, a young woman was swimming across the cold sea from France to England.

This is the story of Gertrude Ederle.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Swimmer. A swimmer is a person who swims, often in races.

At the 1924 Olympics, the young swimmer won three medals.

Channel. A channel is a narrow sea between two coasts.

The English Channel is the sea between England and France.

Cross. To cross something is to go from one side to the other.

In 1925, she tried to cross the Channel.

Goggles. Goggles are special glasses that keep water out of your eyes.

She wore goggles sealed with wax.

Tide. The tide is the rise and fall of the sea, which also moves the water along the coast.

Strong tides pushed her off course.

Now, one pattern: too, plus an adjective, plus to and a verb.

It means it is not possible.

Women were too weak to swim it, they said.

Ready? Let's begin.

Gertrude Ederle was born in New York in 1905.

Her father had a butcher's shop.

He taught her to swim with a rope around her waist.

As a child, an illness damaged her hearing, but she kept swimming.

She trained very hard.

At the 1924 Olympics, the young swimmer won three medals: one gold and two bronze.

The English Channel is the sea between England and France.

It is cold and rough, and only five men had ever swum across it.

In 1925, she tried to cross the Channel.

After about nine hours, her trainer thought she was in trouble.

Someone touched her, so the swim was over.

She did not agree.

Would she try again?

Many people said no woman could do it.

Women were too weak to swim it, they said.

On 6 August 1926, she jumped into the sea in France again.

Her body was covered in grease against the cold.

She wore goggles sealed with wax and a swimsuit that she designed herself.

The sea was rough, and in the afternoon a storm came.

Strong tides pushed her off course.

Because of them, she swam about 35 miles, not 21.

In the storm, her trainer shouted from the boat, "Gertie, you must come out!"

She answered, "What for?"

And she kept swimming.

At night, she walked out of the sea in England.

She had swum for about fourteen and a half hours, nearly two hours faster than any man before her.

Back in New York, about two million people came to see her parade.

Later, she lost most of her hearing, and she taught deaf children to swim.

She died in 2003, aged 98.

Let's review. At the 1924 Olympics, the young swimmer won three medals.

The English Channel is the sea between England and France.

In 1925, she tried to cross the Channel.

She wore goggles sealed with wax.

Strong tides pushed her off course.

And remember: women were too weak to swim it, they said.

Gertrude Ederle's story teaches us: when people say you can't, ask them: what for?

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