Jenny James (swimmer) explained

Birth Place:Pontypridd, Wales
Death Place:Porth, Rhondda, Wales

Jenny Eileen James (1927 - 24 October 2014) was the first Welsh person to swim the English Channel.

Born in Pontypridd in 1927, she learned to swim aged 7 in the Pontypridd Swimming Baths. (The Baths reopened in 2015 as the Pontypridd Outdoor Lido, now the National Lido of Wales). On 19 September 1949 she swam from Penarth to Weston-super-Mare, and then made the swim in the reverse direction on 9 July 1950,[1] so becoming the first woman to swim the Bristol Channel both ways.[2] On 16 August 1951 she competed in the Second Daily Mail Cross Channel Race,[3] and became the first Welsh person to swim the English Channel, crossing from France to England in 13 hours 55 minutes.[2] She received an official homecoming on her return to Pontypridd.[4] She was granted the freedom of Pontypridd in recognition of her achievement, and free entrance for life to any swimming pool in Wales.[2] She became the women's record holder for her swim of Windermere in 1958.[5]

She worked as a swimming coach and lifeguard at the Pontypridd Baths, and is credited as having saved more than 100 lives in her career. She is commemorated at the Lido,[6] where a plaque has been erected in her honour.[7]

James died at a care home in Porth, Rhondda on 24 October 2014. She was unmarried.[2] [8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bristol Channel swims. LongswimsDB. 6 October 2023 .
  2. Web site: Jenny James: First Welsh person to swim the channel dies. BBC News. 30 September 2023. 31 October 2014.
  3. Web site: The Second Daily Mail Cross Channel Race. Dover Museum – Channel Swimmers. https://web.archive.org/web/20231003105637/https://www.dovermuseum.co.uk/Exhibitions/Channel-Swimmers/1950s-Hayday.aspx. 3 October 2023. 3 October 2023.
  4. Web site: Official homecoming. People’s Collection Wales. 6 October 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231006162423/https://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/1000. 6 October 2023.
  5. Web site: Loch Lomond Championship. British Long Distance Swimming Association. https://web.archive.org/web/20231006152101/https://bldsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/BLDSA1stLochLomondChampionshipprogramme-August1959.pdf. 6 October 2023. 6 October 2023. August 1959.
  6. Web site: Heritage. Lido Ponty. Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20230930090307/https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Resident/SportsandLeisure/Lido/Heritage/Heritage.aspx. 30 September 2023. 30 September 2023.
  7. Web site: Plaque for first Welsh person to swim English Channel. BBC News. 3 October 2023. 19 July 2018.
  8. Web site: Tegeltija. Sam. 2014-10-30. The first Welsh woman to swim across the English channel, Jenny James, dies at the age of 87. 2023-09-30. WalesOnline. en.

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