Talk:List of successful English Channel swimmers/Archive 1

Criteria for inclusion
So, we seem to be in agreement that this list should not encompass every English Channel swimmer. We therefore require some kind of clear, explicit criteria for which swimmers should be included (in accordance with the guideline regarding stand-alone lists: WP:STAND). What will that criteria be? Propaniac (talk) 15:41, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: page moved. Propaniac (talk) 19:45, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

English Channel swimmers → List of successful English Channel swimmers — This page is a list, and the article should be named as such. warrior 4321   17:20, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

* Support move. More strongly support deletion or merging to English Channel, or merging the information at English Channel to a new article, or something. What I mean is I don't see the purpose of keeping this one small list as its own article at all. Propaniac (talk) 18:43, 28 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Uh, okay, I just clicked the one reference used by this list, and according to that reference, there are over 800 people who have successfully swum the English Channel. This list just includes the first ten. So if we're going to move it to an accurate title, it would be List of the first ten successful English Channel swimmers, and now I really think it should just be deleted and I'm probably going to prod it right now. Propaniac (talk) 18:48, 28 July 2010 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.
 * Move to suggested title carried out. Espresso Addict (talk) 08:01, 4 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I haven't the foggiest idea why you're pretending that there was a discussion here that supported this title. You seem to be unfamiliar with the RM process; perhaps you're also unfamiliar with the idea that striking a big black line through previous comments indicates that they should be ignored. Propaniac (talk) 13:38, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Where can we learn more about the logistics of a swim?
The world would be grateful, if someone would pioneer the article called Swimming the English Channel, which would talk about the significance of the act, how people train for it, etc. For example, I don't see any mentions of people drowning, which leads me to believe that they're accompanied by boats (also, I'm tipped off by the inclusion of distances), but this article does not (and should not) discuss that -- it belongs in the new article I'm describing.

Thanks! 128.59.179.125 (talk) 03:02, 19 August 2010 (UTC)
 * WP:NOTHOWTO. Sorry. Eric Leb 01 (Page &#124; Talk)  01:34, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Confusing
Maybe it's the result of multiple edits, but this article has some very unclear passages, which aren't helped by the presence of sentence fragments and the like. Considerable effort on the part of somebody who knows a lot about the subject (which isn't me, that's for sure!) will be needed before this article is in a presentable form, I'm afraid. --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 22:13, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

As mentioned, the title of the article suggests that a complete list of successful crossings is available, but I find only those few noteworthy crossings listed. As a friend of mine has just done the swim for charity (http://ubunyechallenge.com) I was hoping to add his name to the list. As I know next to nothing on the subject, I can't be certain but I would image that still few enough people have done it to make a full listing feasible. Thoughs? --nicholasstephan —Preceding undated comment added 00:05, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

First Crossings
In the table Amelia Gade Corson is listed in 1926 as the first mother to cross from England to France but the swim is marked as France to England. Which was it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.146.195.191 (talk) 14:45, 23 January 2012 (UTC)

- Apparently, there is record of an earlier first crossing! Please reference Giovan Maria Salati (1796-1879) on the Italian language Wikipedia. It has been recorded that Giovan Salati was a military prisoner on a ship docked in Dover, and he swam to freedom in France on August 16, 1817, where his story was recorded. Eyeze (talk) 15:54, 14 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Would that be the 'seaman [that] had floated across the Channel'? I see you made an article about him, Giovan M Salati. Have to check out the Italian version to see the manner in which he made the crossing... Bever (talk) 21:30, 25 September 2014 (UTC)

For this article, the "seaman" needs a reference citation. I do not know if the seaman is Giovan Salati, but the Italians believe he was the first. Eyeze (talk) 02:58, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

In The Beginning...
It seems to me that there should be some basic statistics of the Channel at the beginning of the article to give a basic idea of the challenge of the swim. How many miles is the Channel from Dover to France-vice versa. Just a short blurb would probably be better to show vs. going right into the attempts without it requiring the reader to click onto the article about the Channel.

Is anyone up to the small challenge? I would never presume to believe I could handle such a "feat", and do it correctly for the editors of Wikipedia. 69.249.125.97 (talk) 20:11, 24 June 2015 (UTC) BrattySoul

Tidy-up 18 December 2015

 * In 1955, Marilyn swam the English Channel and became the 32nd person (14th woman, and second Canadian) to cross from France to England with her time of 14 hours 36 minutes.

Why does the list of "First swims" include the second Canadian?! This entry appears thoroughly un-noteworthy. Removing.
 * The first Welsh woman to swim across the English Channel has passed away at the age of 87.

Likewise, what is the significance of Jenny Eileen James, the first Welsh woman to swim the channel in 1951. Wales is not a sovereign nation. Far more significantly, the first British women swum the Channel in 1927. Switching. ◃Λmniarix▹ (talk) 20:09, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

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Giovan Maria Salati
A claim has been added that Giovan Maria Salati "swam" the Channel before Webb, but there seems to be virtually no reliable sources for this, and what scant information there is suggests two confounding factors:
 * 1) His embarkation was from a barge moored off Dover, not a proper beach-to-beach swim
 * 2) He used a bundle of straw as a buoyancy aid

If Salati did anything at all, he certainly did not "swim the Channel" in the sense that Webb and his successors did. I am therefore removing the text. Nick Cooper (talk) 14:48, 11 March 2016 (UTC)

"First swims"
There doesn't appear to be much a lot of consistency here, with some "firsts" by geographical region or nationality, but others not, e.g.: I find it hard to believe that there aren't a lot of other nationalities that have been represented, but are not tabulated. I think perhaps the criteria for inclusion and the wording should be more clear. Nick Cooper (talk) 15:41, 18 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Sullivan is also the first American
 * Tirabocchi is also the first Argentinian and the first South American
 * Toth - if he was the third France to England, who was the second?!
 * Das is also the first Bangladeshi

Butterfly
Butterfly — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.30.55.165 (talk) 00:48, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

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Abla Khairy
This page on Abla Khairy states "At the age of 13, she became the youngest ever swimmer to cross the English Channel when she swam from England to France in August 1974" but she's not in the list on this page. Any reason? Zeno27 (talk) 19:43, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
 * A lot of people were each at one time the youngest/oldest ever swimmer, but we don't have them all listed in this article. Pam  D  20:50, 29 May 2020 (UTC)