Swimming across the English Channel: Marion Joffle breaks the French record in 9h22

She is nicknamed the smiling penguin. The joy of living, Marion Joffle needed it to launch such a challenge. Leaving at 7 a.m. in water at 18°C, Sunday August 21, from Dover (England), she reached France after 9:22 a.m. of effort between jellyfish, cargo ships and strong currents. Chilled and exhausted, her last effort was to raise her arms, a sign of success for the woman who thus became the fastest French woman in history to swim across the English Channel.

“The record was optional for me, it wasn’t even something I was aiming for. To tell myself that I was able to swim 20 minutes less, it’s huge, I still can’t believe it“, she reacted after coming to her senses.She impressed me, she really has a big mind“, comments her trainer Mathias Faride. After having overcome cancer, she has been fighting for several years to help hospitalized children. Her achievement will make it possible to donate 8,000 euros to children with cancer.