Brenda Fisher
English swimmer (1927–2022)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brenda Fisher BEM (9 June 1927 – 2 August 2022) was an English long-distance swimmer. In 1951 she broke the women's world record for swimming the English Channel, becoming a celebrity, and was given the British Sportswoman of the Year Award.
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in 1951 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 June 1927 Scartho, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | 2 August 2022 (aged 95) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
Life
Fisher was born and raised in Scartho, North East Lincolnshire,[1] the daughter of a Grimsby trawler skipper, learned to swim at the age of 9, and initially became a speed swimmer.[2][3][4]
On 17 August 1951 she was the 23rd swimmer of the English Channel from France to England, completing in a new record women's time of 12 hours 42 minutes. She was fed every hour keeping up a rate of 25 strokes a minute rising to 30 as she approached England. She only learned of her time when she landed in England.[5] She broke the previous women's record of 13:20 set by Florence Chadwick a year earlier.[6][7] A crowd of 60,000 turned out to welcome her back to Grimsby.[8]
Fisher swam the Channel again in 1954, and was the first woman ashore.[9][10] In 1956, Fisher completed and won the 29-mile (47 km) River Nile Swim, then at the fastest time.[11][12] Fisher was asked to attend the Royal Command Performance and she was given the Sportswoman of the Year Award.[5]
In September 1956, Fisher took part in the 32-mile (51 km) Lake Ontario swim from Niagara to Toronto, completing in 18 hours and 50 minutes, 2 hours and 6 minutes faster than the previous record set by Marilyn Bell.[2][11] At that point, she was the third person in history to complete the swim. She attempted the Ontario swim again in 1957 but retired after 12 hours 43 minutes,[13] during a thunder storm which threatened to sink her support boats.[8]
Fisher, with Stanley Baker, was one of the judges in the 1954 Prestatyn "Easy To Love" Bathing Beauty Contest.[14]
Fisher married Paddy Johnson, footballer with Grimsby Town F.C. After retiring, she became a swimming teacher in Grimsby.[15]
In 2015, her biography was published. Blonde In Deep Water was written by local journalist Lucy Wood.[16][17]
In 2016, she appeared on the BBC Television series Flog It!, to sell her Clarice Cliff 'Inspiration' vase at auction[8] and in June 2018 she appeared on Antiques Roadshow with her collection of swimming memorabilia.[18]
Fisher received in 2018 the British Empire Medal, as part of the Queen's New Year Honours list, for her achievements in the sport of swimming.[19] A blue plaque in her honour was erected in Grimsby in 2017.[20]
Fisher died from complications of a stroke on 2 August 2022, at the age of 95.[21][22]
She was cremated at Grimsby Crematorium.[23]