Alison Streeter
Alison Streeter MBE (born 1964) is a British long-distance swimmer. She has swum across the English Channel 43 times, more than anyone in the world and earning her the title of Queen of the English Channel. This total includes a triple-channel swim. She also completed seven Channel crossings in one year. She set the female record for a Channel swim from France to England (8 hours 48 minutes), in 1988. She was the first woman to swim the Channel three ways non-stop in 1990, taking 34h40 min for the feat.
The Queen appointed Streeter a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1991 for her swimming prowess and charity fundraising. To date she has raised over £100,000 for various charities.
In May 2006, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[1]
In 1988, Streeter became the first woman to swim across the North Channel, between Northern Ireland and Scotland. She repeated the swim in 1989 and 1997. She currently holds the world record for the most number of North Channel crossings. In all of history, only ten female solo swimmers have succeeded in crossing the North Channel.[2]
She formerly worked as a currency trader in London, and now spends part of her life in Adelaide (Seacliff) and the summers in Dover as a Channel Swim boat pilot.
British records
1984 Catalina Channel (Santa Catalina Island, California) 9 h 33 min
1987 Capri - Naples 8 h 35 min
1990 Round Manhattan Island 6 h 47 min
1995 Double English Channel 20 h 55 min
1998 Toreneous Strait, Greece 7 h 42 min
1998 Yarra River St Kilda Pier and return 9 h 40 min
World records (men and women)
1984 Round Isle of Wight 100 km 21 h 2 min
1985 Richmond, London to Gravesend, Kent (Tidal Thames) 68 km 14 h 28 min
1986 Gravesend, Kent to Richmond, London 68 km 16 h exactly
1986 Four Piers (Solent) 23 km 4 h 37 min
1988 Ireland to Scotland - 1st Woman 9 h 53 min
1989 Scotland to Ireland 1st Person to succeed 10 h 4 min
1989 Round Jersey (Channel Islands) 9 h 53 min
1992 Seven English Channel swims in one season (one every 10 days)
1995 Overall record holder for number of English Channel swims - 43 crossings; men's record is 34 held by Kevin Murphy.
1998 Isles of Scilly to Cornwall 1st person 28 miles 15 h 11 min
External links
- English Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
- International Swimming Hall of Fame
- English Channel Swimming Information - Swimmer Profile: Alison Streeter
- BBC article about crossing the English Channel, which mentions Alison Streeter
- Alison is mentioned extensively in the book 'Dover Solo - Swimming the English Channel'
- Multiple mentions of Alison on the official website of the English Channel Swimming Association
- BBC News Article on English Channel Swimming