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Story: Open water swimming

Training to swim the English Channel

On 30 July 1978, Meda McKenzie became the first New Zealand woman to swim the English Channel. This achievement came six months after her first crossing of Cook Strait. Filmed training for the Channel swim at Island Bay, Wellington, she was asked if she thought it would be more difficult than swimming Cook Strait.

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TVNZ Television New Zealand

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How to cite this page:

Nancy Swarbrick. 'Open water swimming', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 2-Mar-09
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/open-water-swimming/1/3