Greta Marie Andersen (married names Jeppesen and Sonnichsen and Veress, 1 May 1927 – 6 February 2023) was a Danish swimmer who won a gold and a silver medal in 100 m freestyle events at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. In the mid-1950s she moved to the United States, where she set several world records in marathon swimming in the distances up to 50 miles.

Early life

Andersen was born on 1 May 1927 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

to Mourits Peter Andersen and Charlotte Emerentze Benedikte Nielsen.

Swimming career

Andersen began swimming in a club aged 16 while also doing gymnastics. In 1947, she won two European medals at her first international competition. Next year she won two more medals at the London Olympics, a gold in the 100m freestyle and a silver in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay. She failed to finish her 400m freestyle race due to sudden stomach cramps – she fainted and was rescued from drowning by fellow competitors Nancy Lees and

Elemér Szathmáry Elemér Szathmáry (1926 – 17 December 1971) was a Hungarian swimmer and Olympic medalist, born in Budapest. He participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdo ...

. According to her recollections, an injection her coach gave her to delay her period caused her legs to be paralyzed and for her to subsequently faint. In 1949, Andersen set a world record in the 100 yard freestyle at 58.2 seconds, which stood for seven years. She took part in three events at the 1952 Olympics, but could not use one leg due to a recent knee surgery, and failed to medal. Her best result at those Games was a fourth place in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay. During her career in Europe, she won nine individual Danish titles, several team titles, and four individual Scandinavian titles. In 1953 she immigrated to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, and obtained American citizenship in 1959 while still married to her second husband John Sonnichsen in Long Beach. There she switched to marathon swimming and became the first person to swim a major channel both ways (the Santa Catalina Channel in 1958). She also set world records in the 10, 25 and 50 miles. Between 1957 and 1965 she crossed 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 ...

six times, setting a record for most Channel swims by a woman, as well as a speed record for women at 10:59 h in 1958. She also set an unofficial record for the longest Channel swim, while trying for 23 hours to cross the Channel forth and back in 1964. In 1969, Andersen was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

(ISHOF). In 2015, ISHOF honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal life

After a previous marriage (Valby, Copenhagen, 1952) to Danish engineer Helge Jeppesen ended in divorce, Andersen married John Sonnichsen in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

in 1957. The couple opened a swimming school in Los Alamitos in 1960. The school existed until 1980. Andersen was among the pioneers in baby swimming, and continued as swimming instructor also after the school had closed. Andersen and Sonnichsen divorced, and in 1966 in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

she married Hungarian-born doctor Andre Veress; the couple lived for many years in

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

. In 2017 they moved to Solvang. Andersen died at her home in

Solvang, California Solvang (; ) is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 census, up from 5,245 at the 2010 census. Solvang was founded in 1911 and incorporated as a city on May ...

, on 6 February 2023, at the age of 95.

Books

References

External links