Natalia Pankina

Natalia ("Natalya") Pankina (Наталья Панкина, born 1983) is a Russian long distance swimmer. She was the first Russian woman who successfully swam the English Channel in 2007 in a time of 8 h 11 mins. She narrowly missed a medal in the 2007 World Championships, coming 5th in the 25 km open water event, just 10 seconds behind 3rd place. As a 1st Russian Woman, Natalya won the Overall at FINA Open Water Grand Prix 2008