Hundreds join 47-hour endurance challenge in honour of swimming pioneer Mercedes Gleitze in Brighton

WATCH: ITV News Meridian's Kit Bradshaw reports from Brighton seafront

Hundreds of amateur swimmers have joined a mass endurance event to honour the pioneering British sportswoman, Mercedes Gleitze.

The Brighton-born swimmer became the first woman to successfully cross the English Channel in 1927. 

She also broke records in the pool, completing a 47-hour continuous swim in Worthing in 1933, an achievement being replicated by hundreds of participants this weekend.

Instead of swimming for the entire duration, more than 300 amateurs are taking to the water for shorter periods, to ensure there is continuous activity in the pool until 4.30pm on Sunday, 15 October.

Mercedes Gleitze in Folkestone in 1926 setting out on her seventh attempt to swim the English Channel. Credit: PA Archive

The ‘Swimming a long way together’ event – 90 years since Gleitze broke the record – began on Friday evening at the Sea Lanes outdoor pool on Madeira Drive, Brighton.

High winds prevented an inflatable gramophone from being placed in the water overnight, in tribute to Gleitze’s love of the arts. 

Visual artist Vanessa Daws, who is behind the event, said: “Mercedes Gleitze loved music and there was always a kind of performative element. 

“When she did the endurance swims she’d have the gramophone player or she’d have people singing to her or reading the paper. I just love that connection of the music, the arts and the swimming.”

  • WATCH: Artist Vanessa Daws explains how the project came about

Swimmers were entertained by hourly performances from local artists and writers, with readings and DJ sets on offer. 

Sea swimmer and writer, Philip Hoare, wrote a piece specifically for the event. He told ITV News: “I love that whole idea of bringing art into action because usually art is really static, it’s in an art gallery and you’re meant to stand solemnly and read a label but here, it’s all happening at once,” he said.

In January 2022, a blue plaque was unveiled on Gleitze’s family home in Brighton. The same year, a feature-length film was released documenting her quest to swim the Channel. 

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