EDERLE’S DEAFNESS Ederle had trouble hearing dating back to her childhood After her channel swim she became a swimming instructor but by 1945 she was totally deaf Instead of letting that slow her down she used her deafness in a positive way becoming a swimming instructor for deaf children She never learned sign language but she showed children they could be comfortable in the water without hearing Ederle started her swim at 7 08 a m The seas were calm at first But she ran into trouble at noon as storms significantly slowed her progress Another storm hit at 6 00 p m and her coach suggested she quit But Ederle’s family was also in the boat following her and they encouraged her to keep going Her father had promised her a new car if she completed the journey To motivate his daughter he called out to her reminding her of the prize that awaited Ederle pushed through more rough seas and reached Kingsdown England at 9 04 p m The straight-line trip of 21 miles 33 8 km had become 35 miles 56 3 km with the waves pushing her off course But she didn’t care Her time Ederle faced difficult conditions in the water during her swim 7
of 14 hours 31 minutes had shattered the previous record by two hours A hero’s welcome awaited Ederle upon her return to the United States She was honored with a parade in New York City Songs were written for her She even got to meet President Calvin Coolidge at the White House But after the excitement died down her life returned to a quiet pace Athletes especially female athletes in the 1920s did not earn the life-changing money that top athletes make today Ederle lived a humble life near New York City occasionally giving interviews on anniversaries of her famous swim Ederle was already an accomplished swimmer by the time of her Channel swim She won a gold and two bronze medals at the 1924 Olympics She set 29 world and national records between 1921 and 1925 Ederle was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965 Ederle died in 2003 at the age of 93 In the years since her feat many women have taken up the challenge of the English Channel Nearly 600 had completed it by the end of 2016 Ederle was an Olympic champion before she swam the English Channel 8
