Chloe McCardel Australian athlete, swimmer Country: Australia

Chloe McCardle: Biography of an Australian Swimmer

Australian athlete and swimmer Susie Maroney successfully conquered the strait in 1997, albeit in a shark cage. Long-distance swims are already extremely challenging, but Chloe McCardle's recent attempt stood out as truly eccentric. Against the backdrop of other such swims, McCardle set out to conquer the Australian waters without a shark cage. Unfortunately, her bravery and determination were not enough, as she had to withdraw from the race long before reaching the finish line.

This was McCardle's fifth attempt to conquer the Florida Straits, a challenge that had been thrown by the local waters to female swimmers. Unfortunately, for the fifth time in a row, a human being failed to triumph over the forces of nature. This time, her swim was interrupted by an encounter with marine creatures, but not sharks. McCardle, to her misfortune, encountered a jellyfish along her path. Anyone who has experienced the sting of a jellyfish can agree that continuing a long-distance swim while "bitten" is quite challenging. However, McCardle didn't just get stung. The marine creature managed to leave its marks all over her body, with numerous stings on her hands, legs, and back. The excruciating pain proved unbearable, ultimately forcing McCardle to abandon the swim.

She was immediately rescued by members of the support team and taken to Key West on one of the boats. The initial recovery period from the stings lasted at least a day. The fateful encounter occurred 11 hours after she started, and she had planned to complete the entire distance within 60 hours. Planning the event took nine and a half months, during which McCardle and her team carefully studied the lessons learned by previous conquerors of the straits, trying to understand the main challenges they faced.

Choosing June as the month for the swim was not a random decision. By that time, the water had already warmed up, and dangerous jellyfish encounters were relatively rare. Additional training sessions were, of course, necessary. Although McCardle had already successfully swum across the English Channel twice, she had never spent more than 25 consecutive hours in the water.

McCardle started her swim from Cuba, fully determined to complete the entire distance and believing it to be challenging but achievable. She was set to swim 160 kilometers northeast. Surprisingly, the sea was remarkably calm – exactly the weather she had hoped for. Following the rules of the English Channel Marathon, she was not allowed to touch the support boats or any other supportive objects, nor could she use protective wetsuits.

Jellyfish had always posed challenges to swimmers attempting to conquer the waters. Statistics show that jellyfish encounters and strong currents are the most common obstacles preventing a successful record-breaking swim. Diana Nyad, for example, attempted to conquer the Florida Straits three times but had to retreat on each occasion. However, she plans to make another attempt this summer. Penny Palfrey also has an unsuccessful swim of the straits on her record.

Australian swimmer Susie Maroney successfully conquered the strait in 1997, but she did so in a shark cage. According to Chloe McCardle herself, conquering the Florida Straits is the most challenging task of its kind known to date. The final victory over this unyielding strait is comparable only to an Olympic gold medal in terms of importance.