The lady is a champ! Łódź student first Pole to win Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming title for crossing the English Channel
Ola Bednarek from Łódź, central Poland, has become the first Pole to win the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming after swimming the English Channel on Tuesday.
The delighted swimmer said: ”I swam 13 hours and 17 minutes. In a straight line it is 36km, but due to the currents the route is longer. I suppose that I swam about 40-45km, but I still don't know exactly."
The Łódź University of Technology announced the student's achievement on Wednesday.
Earlier, the World Open Water Swimming Association nominated her for the prestigious Woman of the Year award, which she won by defeating 15 rivals.
"We are delighted with the success of Ola Bednarek, who is a student... in the field of biomedical engineering. She is a Master's student, which she takes very seriously - just as her open water swimming and winter swimming, which she also practises. As a career she wants to design equipment supporting athletes," said the University spokesperson, Ewa Chojnacka.
In 2018, Aleksandra Bednarek was the first Polish woman to cross the Catalina Channel off the coast of the United States, a distance of 34km, which Bednarek swam in a little over 12 hours. Thanks to this achievement, the World Open Water Swimming Association nominated her for the prestigious Woman of the Year award, which she won by defeating 15 rivals for the title.
Her next challenge was to circumnavigate Manhattan Island in New York (USA). Bednarek took part in the 20 Bridges Swim, covering 46.5km in the waters of the Hudson River.
She completed the swim in 7hrs, 7mins and 34secs.
