Evening star., 1923-08-07
WINS 27-HOUR FIGHT
TO SWIM CHANNEL
Henry Sullivan, American,
Goes Sc MiIes-BattIes
Tide IL Hours.
By the Associated Press.

stages of his great effort the Amer
lean athlete showed a marvellous de-
gree of dogged determination.
Sullivan had the misfortune to
meet one strong tide setting from
the French capes, and the captain of
the accompanying motor lugger es-
timated that but for this the swim
would have been accomplished in six
hours less time. AS 1t was. Sullivan
performed the feat in 81 hours %
minutes.
Because of this battling tide it took
the swimmer from 6:15 o'clock yes
terday morning until sos o'clock last
night to make the last six miles Of
his journey. The trouble was due to
the flood tide. which was running
two hours behind its normal schedule.
TweIve-Hour Endurance Test.
The last twelve hours of the swim
proved to be "A tremendous endurance
test. At s o'clock yesterday morning
the pier at Calais was a little over
three miles ahead. but for the next
two hours the swimmers relative
position to the land was unchanged.
Then the tide set off the coast and
sullivan was forced to make a great
fight to retain his advantage.
At 11:15 o'clock the swimmer was
two and half miles from shore. BY
noon the tide began to carry him
westward down the channel, and in
the following hours he drifted in this
direction. stroking thirty-three to the
minute and edging slowly across the
current. At 3:15 o'clock he had
reached a point opposite the San
gatta cliff. The water was choppy
and the tide was dead against him
Drifts West With Tide.
One hour later Sullivan was still
drifting west and his position was
rather despaired Of At SLY he was
still two miles off the coast and white
caps were breaking. The accom-
panying party. to cheer him along
sang For He's Jolly Good Fellow
With the change of the tide. at els
Sullivan made better progress. and
the occupants OF the boat could see
the crowds on the sands in front OF
the Calais Casino watching his strug-
gle. An hour later the swimmer was
exactly opposite the lighthouse one
mile from the coast; he was quite
cheerful and was swimming strong
ly.
At 7:3o O'Clock he expressed conf.
dence that his seventh attempt tc
swim the channel would be success
full. At this time he was making
thirty-two strokes to the minute anc
was gradually forging ahead.
Touches Bottom mt sos.
II was sos when Sullivan first felt
bottom. He attempted to stand. but
staggered as though intoxicated, ant
one of the crew jumped from the boat
IN To his waist in watar
II don't want any help" cried Sui
livan. I'll finish this myself He
staggered ashore.
scene OF wild enthusiasm fol-
lowed on the part of the crowd. and
every one wanted to help carry to
the Casino the first American ever
to accomplish the channel swim. In
cidentally, it was just as well they
did not. as his body was covered with
grease.
First Food Ice Cream.
Sullivan's first food when he
reached the Casino was a dish of ice
cream. He later took little soup.
Only once during the nearly
twenty-eight hours he was in the
water did Sullivan take nourish-
ment. and then he ate an egg and
drank some milk. He was a little
sick during the early stages of the
journey. He drank hot water, which
imme ediately relieved him. He
chatted all the way with the occu-
pants of the boat and was apparently
little distressed at any time.
Sullivan swan nearly fifty-siS
miles, although the distance from
point to point as an airplane makes
the trip is only approximately
221a miles.
The Daily Sketch announced today
that it had decided to award to Henry
Sullivan the $1,000 prize it offered
some time ago for the channel swim
The newspaper says that although
Sullivan entered the contest, he did
not fulfill the conditions, inasmuch
s there was no representative of the
paper in the accompanying boat but
that in view of his pluck and the fact
that there is no doubt of his having
accomplished the feat, the prize will
be awarded.
Mrs. Carson Gives Up.
Mrs. Carson. the American long
distance swimmer, Is reported to
have abandoned her attempt to swim
the English channel when at a point
six miles off the Cape Gris-Nez, on the
French coast. She Is said to have
become very exhausted during the
Sullivan is content to rest on this
big achievement, at least for the pres
ent
I'm satisfied with what I've done;
I'm not planning any other swim; all
I want is sleep" he told the CORE
spondent upon returning to Dover in
the motorboat which had accompanied
him across the channel.
Sullivan's eyes were slightly blood
shot and his ruddy face was bristling
with two-day growth of beard, but
he was smiling almost from ear to
ear and declared he felt flne-not
tired. but sleepy, although he had
caught few hours sleep last night
in Calais.
From start to finish Sullivan plug
ged away with straight breast
stroke He says he had found from
experience that to alter his stroke or
flop over on his back for a rest caused
the muscles to contract and boded
badly for the achievement of an ambi-
tion such as his.
long swim. That was when he had
swum but a short distance from
Dover. Not long after he had eaten
his light meal he got into a choppy
sea- where he swallowed consider
able water. This turned his stomach
and he felt that to eat again would
prejudice his chances.
He found the water coolest in mid
stream, but he said that whenever he
moved into a particularly chilly swirl
he simply speeded up his stroke to
keep his body warm. The quietest
part of his journey, he added, was
the last four miles into Calais.
StoWaWay Fails
~ ~ YY q f