Florence May Chadwick born in San Diego,
California on November 9, 1918 was the first American swimmer known
for long-distance open water swimming.
She was the first woman to swim the
English Channel in both directions, setting a time record each time.
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw
nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been
swimming for nearly sixteen hours. Already she was the first woman to swim the
English Channel in both directions.
Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the
first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On that fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was
like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support
boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle
shots. Against the cold sea, she struggled on --- hour after hour ---- while
millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother
and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much farther.
But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had …
until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
She told a reporter hour later, "Look, I'm not
excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it." It
was not tiredness or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She
was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time,
despite the same dense fog, she swam with her goal clearly pictured in her mind.
She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel,
eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
Moral Of the Story : Have faith in self and your
goals, Rest will fall in place
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