Ederle, Gertrude (1905–2003)

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Ederle, Gertrude (1905–2003)

American swimmer. Name variations: Trudie or Trudy Ederle. Born Gertrude Caroline Ederle, Oct 23, 1905, in New York, NY; died Nov 30, 2003, in Wyckoff, New Jersey; dau. of Henry Ederle (butcher) and Anna Ederle.

The 1st woman to swim the English Channel, began career winning the Metropolitan New York Jr. 100-meter freestyle championship (1921); won bronze medals for 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle and a gold medal for 4 × 100-meter free-style relay at Paris Olympics (1924); while swimming the English Channel, broke the men's record by 2 hours with a time of 14 hours 31 minutes under horrendous conditions (1926); set many international freestyle swimming records over short and long distances, including 100 meters (1:12.5 on Oct 11, 1923), 150 yards (1:42.5 on Mar 1, 1925), 200 meters (2:45.2 on April 4, 1923), 220 yards (2:46.8 on April 4, 1923), 300 yards (3:58.4 on Feb 28, 1925), 400 meters (5:53.2 on Sept 4, 1922), 440 yards (5:54.6 on Sept 4, 1922), 500 yards (6:45.2 on Sept 4, 1922), 500 meters (7:22.2) and 880 yards (13:19.0 on Sept 4, 1922).

See also Women in World History.