Tammy Van Wisse is off to New York to swim in a marathon event from Manhattan to Sandy Hook.By Rebecca Fraser
CHAMPION marathon swimmer Tammy Van Wisse will honour her childhood hero later this month by trying to smash her long-held record, set 80 years ago.
Gertrude Ederle a famous American swimmer, was the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926.
From 1921 to 1925 she set 29 United States and world records for swimming.
The 37-year-old Van Wisse flies to New York today (Thursday) to prepare for the world record attempt that will see her complete a 22-mile course from Manhattan to Sandy Hook in New Jersey.
In what could be her last marathon swim, the born-and-bred Springvale sports identity said she would try to finish the swim in seven hours, 11 minutes.
But to Van Wisse, her latest challenge is about much more than just beating a record.
Instead she hopes to empower other women to reach their true potential and honour Ederle the woman who first inspired her to enter the pool.
Van Wisse has been in training since last October, running three times a week and swimming 80 kilometres in preparation for the world record attempt.
New York City native Ederle, a sports heroine, currently holds the record.
Before setting the Channel record, only five men had ever swum the distance.
What was more remarkable was that she shattered the existing record by more than two hours.
At the time Ederle said: “People said women couldn’t swim the Channel. I proved they could.”
Van Wisse said her idol soon became one of the century’s most influential women.
“Not only did she inspire thousands of women to learn how to swim, but she also started a movement that advanced the acceptance of women in sports,” she said.
This movement inspired a young Van Wisse, who at the time was struggling with weight and self-confidence issues, to take up swimming.
Once she got in the pool and began to exercise, she immediately discovered new talents.
Van Wisse said this inspired her to reach her full potential and she has since gone on to swim the distance of one and half times around the world and has set 11 Australian and world records.
Through this swim, Van Wisse hopes that women around the world will remember Gertrude Ederle’s philosophy that the ‘impossible can be turned into the possible if you work hard and believe in yourself’.
