Eileen Fenton (born 1928) was the first woman to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, accomplishing the feat on 26 September 1950. Fenton completed the swim as a competitor in the First Daily Mail Channel Race. There were 24 competitors in the race and less than half of these finished. She finished in a time of 15hrs 31mins, and received a winner's cheque of £1000. In 2019, she received an MBE in the

Queen's Birthday honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

for voluntary service to Long Distance and Competitive Swimming Coaching in Yorkshire and Great Britain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenton, Eileen 1928 births Living people Sportspeople from Dewsbury English female swimmers Female long-distance swimmers English Channel swimmers Members of the Order of the British Empire