Brenda Fisher

Brenda Fisher (born June 1927), is an English long-distance swimmer. In 1951 she broke the women's world record for swimming the English Channel.

Brenda Fisher
Personal information
Full nameBrenda Fisher
NationalityBritish
BornJune 1927
Scartho, England
Sport
SportSwimming

Fisher was born and raised in Scartho, North East Lincolnshire,[1] the daughter of a Grimsby trawler skipper, learned to swim at the age of 9, and initially became a speed swimmer.[2][3][4]

In 1951 she was the 23rd swimmer of the English Channel from France to England, completing in a new record women's time of 12 hours 42 minutes, breaking the previous women's record of 13:20 set by Florence Chadwick a year earlier.[5][6] A crowd of 60,000 turned out to welcome her back to Grimsby.[7]

Fisher swam the Channel again in 1954, and was the first woman ashore.[8][9] In 1956, Fisher completed and won the 29-mile (47 km) River Nile Swim, then at the fastest time.[10][11]

In September 1956, Fisher took part in the 32-mile (51 km) Lake Ontario swim from Niagara to Toronto, completing in 18 hours and 50 minutes, 2 hours and 6 minutes faster than the previous record set by Marilyn Bell.[2][10] At that point, she was the third person in history to complete the swim. She attempted the Ontario swim again in 1957 but retired after 12 hours 43 minutes,[12] during a thunder storm which threatened to sink her support boats.[7]

Fisher, with Stanley Baker, was one of the judges in the 1954 Prestatyn "Easy To Love" Bathing Beauty Contest.[13]

Fisher married Paddy Johnson, footballer with Grimsby Town F.C. After retiring, she became a swimming teacher in Grimsby.[14]

In 2015, her biography was published. Blonde In Deep Water is written by local journalist Lucy Wood.[15]

In 2016, she appeared on the BBC Television series Flog It!, to sell her Clarice Cliff 'Inspiration' vase at auction.[7] and in June 2018 she appeared on Antiques Roadshow with her collection of swimming memorabilia.

Fisher received in 2018 the British Empire Medal, as part of the Queen's New Year Honours list, for her achievements in the sport of swimming.[16]

References
  1. "Amazing life of Grimsby's record-breaking Channel swimmer recorded in new book", Grimsby Telegraph, 8 August 2015, Retrieved 17 March 2016
  2. "Brenda Ready To Swim Anything Provided It’s Made Worthwhile"; The Montreal Gazette 15 August 1956. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  3. "60 years on, record-breaker Brenda recalls her race to British shores" Archived 5 May 2013 at Archive.today; Grimsby Telegraph, 16 August 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  4. "Brenda Fisher"; Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  5. "Channel Swim Won By Egyptian". Cairns Post. 18 August 1951.
  6. "Florence Chadwick - Solo Channel Swimmer". Channel Swimming: Dover.uk.com. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  7. "Grimsby 5 (from 30.00 min.)". Flog It!. Series 15. 10 November 2016. BBC Television. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  8. "'A remarkable lady'"; Thisisgrimsby.co.uk. Grimsby Telegraph, 14 September 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  10. "Brenda Fisher Beats Marilyn Bell Record"; Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. Hall of Fame Globe and Mail 14 August 1956. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  11. "Brenda Fisher Wins Nile Swim 1956"; British Pathe. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  12. "Brenda Fisher Swims Ontario"; The Palm Beach Post, 14 August 1958. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  13. ""Easy To Love" Bathing Beauty Contest 1954"; British Pathe. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  14. "Two Grimsby sporting heroes call on athletes to make waves at London 2012"; Thisisgrimsby.co.uk. Grimsby Telegraph, 9 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012
  15. "A story of a lady who made our town great!"; Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2015
  16. "Champion swimmer Brenda Fisher receives British Empire Medal", Grimsby Telegraph, 21 May 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019
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