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MacDonald makes history as first person to swim from England to Belgium

adam betz, journal inquirer, manchester, conn.
·5 min read

Aug. 26—Marcy MacDonald is no stranger to making swimming history.

The 58-year-old Manchester native and Andover resident made a little more history Thursday.

MacDonald became the first person to ever swim across the English Channel from England to Belgium, a journey she called her "Swim 4 Hope of the World."

"It just means that it's another something that somebody can take a record from me," MacDonald said with a laugh Friday morning. "But if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish almost anything. There were times where I was ready to get out. I don't do it for fame or fortune, I do it because I believe that's what I was made to do. I am a natural swimmer. I am not the fastest, but I can keep going."

It was the 18th time MacDonald swam across the English Channel and first since 2019. Her first crossing came in 1994.

The journey began in Ramsgate, England at 11 p.m. British Summer Time on Tuesday and finished 39 hours and 20 minutes later on the beaches of De Panne, Belgium.

MacDonald said it was the longest time she's been in the water during her 51-year swimming career.

"I don't think I could've done this swim if I was younger," MacDonald said. "It took a long time for my mind to be patient. ... I definitely couldn't have done this when I was 30 years old. First of all, at that point I just wanted to swim as fast as I could. It took many injuries for me to settle down and swim easy."

MacDonald has a swimming résumé as long as the English Channel is wide.

She's crossed the Channel more times than any other American. She was the first American woman to perform a double crossing — back and forth — of the Channel, and she was the first American to ever swim across Loch Ness.

Her efforts led to MacDonald being inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2019.

The idea of making the swim from Ramsgate to De Panne, which is 53.278 miles as the crow flies, has been in MacDonald's head for over two decades.

"In 2000, I took a fairy from Dover (England), after one of my swims, to Belgium," she said. "I said why not? I was wondering if anyone had done it, which no one had, and could it be done. So, it kind of sat in my brain for about 10 years. About seven years ago, I mentioned it to my pilot."

MacDonald attempted the swim for the first time in 2017, but bad weather ultimately cut it short. She tried again in 2018, this time beginning in Ramsgate rather than Dover.

"It was much more east of the Channel proper. So that's what makes it different," MacDonald said. "We're technically going into the North Sea. We're right at the fringe of the Channel."

She got injured during the 2018 attempt, and had to finish just east of Calais, France.

"I told my pilot that I wanted to try one more time because I had a little taste of it and I would give it one more try," MacDonald said.

MacDonald noted that the swim isn't as simple as just going from point A to point B.

"To just try to swim a straight line from point to point, you can do it in a lake. There are no currents so you don't have to deal with that," she said. "But when you're dealing with lots of tides, and they're very strong tides, you have to know what's going on. So to go from one point to another, it's kind of a big S because you know the tide is going to take you up east, and then it's going to bring you back down.

"Then hopefully on your back swing up east, you're going to hit your destination."

This time, MacDonald had two stretches — one of three hours, one of five hours — where she had to swim in place because of the tides.

Higher than forecasted winds also added to the challenge.

"When you have high winds against the tide, that's when you see big chop. The big white horses, the big waves," MacDonald said. "We had lots of those. Then when the wind is with the tide, it flattens out a little bit.

"Right at the end, after already swimming for 30 hours, I got beat up really bad. It was just a big washing machine. But I knew we were getting closer and closer. At least the tide was with me."

Like her previous attempts, MacDonald took a beating throughout the swim. But she was able to soldier on.

"I went through a lot yesterday, but there was never, ever a point that I was injured enough to get out of the water," MacDonald said. "I had lot's of soreness. My wrists and my elbows yesterday, my whole hand and my wrist, they were like a mile black and blue. It was just inflammation.

"My whole body was inflamed. But today with a nice 10-hour sleep and 800 milligrams of Motrin, I feel much better. I'm tired, I'm a little fatigued. But I'm okay."

She headed towards Dunkirk, France before making her way up the coast to De Panne, where a mile-long string of poles separated Belgium and France, and MacDonald from history.

She credits this bit of history, and all the other history she's made in the water, to her wife Janet Galya, her boat pilot Mike Oram and the rest of his crew.

"Without them, these things would never be done," MacDonald said.

MacDonald added that she's not going to make any more 39-hour swims in her career.

But she didn't rule out the possibility of a 19th trip across the English Channel.

"It all depends," MacDonald said. "I don't really care, I could retire on this one. It depends on another motivation, but right now I'm quite content. I'm not looking at anything other than I have a few thing to just vacation with and enjoy life."

For coverage of UConn football and men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.