Tammy van Wisse is a long-distance swimmer

Long-distance swimming

The distances that distinguish long distance swimming from ordinary swimming are those distances that are longer than are typically swum in pool competitions. When a given swim calls more on endurance than outright speed, the more likely it is to be considered a long distance swim...

 from Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. As a marathon swimmer she swam the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

 in 2001, a distance of 2,438 kilometres and the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

in 1993 in a time of 8h 35mins and again in 1994 in a time of 8h 33mins. In July 2006, van Wisse broke an 81-year old record for the 35 mile swim from New York City to Sandy Hook, and retired from competitive swimming the same year to start a family, 20 years after her first marathon swim. She now works as an environmentalist and a motivational speaker.

External links

• Tammy van Wisse - Official Website