From IMSHOF
In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to successfully swim the English Channel in a time of 21 hours and 45 minutes. It was his second attempt and he swam breaststroke the entire way.
Many would date the start of the sport of marathon swimming to this accomplishment. Webb was inducted into the inaugural classes of both the International Marathon Swimming Hall for Fame in 1963, as well as the International Swimming Hall for Fame in 1965.
That same year, Webb swam 32.2 km down the Thames from Blackwall to Gravesend and 31.4 km from Dover to Ramsgate.
In 1879, he won the “Trials of Endurance” by swimming 119 km in a 6-day endurance race, swam 32.2 km down the Thames from Blackwall to Gravesend, swam 31.4 km from Dover to Ramsgate, and swam 16 km from Sandy Hook Point to Manhattan Beach, New York in eight hours in 1879.
Ironically, in 1880, Webb drowned while trying to complete a dangerous swim through the Whirlpool Rapids below the Niagara Falls in 1883.
It took another 35 years before anyone was able to replicate his Channel crossing.
To Read Honoree Matthew Webb’s ISHOF Honoree bio, click here: https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-captain-matthew-webb/