Brenda Fisher

Brenda Fisher (born June 1927), is an English long-distance swimmer. In 1951 she broke the women's world record for swimming the English Channel.

Fisher was born and raised in Scartho, North East Lincolnshire,[1] the daughter of a Grimsby trawler skipper, learned to swim at the age of 9, and initially became a speed swimmer.[2][3][4]

In 1951 she was the 23rd swimmer of the English Channel from France to England, completing in a new record women's time of 12 hours 42 minutes, breaking the previous women's record of 13:20 set by Florence Chadwick a year earlier.[5][6] A crowd of 60,000 turned out to welcome her back to Grimsby.[7]

Fisher swam the Channel again in 1954, and was the first woman ashore.[8][9] In 1956, Fisher completed and won the 29-mile (47 km) River Nile Swim, then at the fastest time.[10][11]

In September 1956, Fisher took part in the 32-mile (51 km) Lake Ontario swim from Niagara to Toronto, completing in 18 hours and 50 minutes, 2 hours and 6 minutes faster than the previous record set by Marilyn Bell.[2][10] At that point, she was the third person in history to complete the swim. She attempted the Ontario swim again in 1957 but retired after 12 hours 43 minutes,[12] during a thunder storm which threatened to sink her support boats.[7]

Fisher, with Stanley Baker, was one of the judges in the 1954 Prestatyn "Easy To Love" Bathing Beauty Contest.[13]

Fisher married Paddy Johnson, footballer with Grimsby Town F.C. After retiring, she became a swimming teacher in Grimsby.[14]

In 2015, her biography was published. Blonde In Deep Water is written by local journalist Lucy Wood.[15]

In 2016, she appeared on the BBC Television series Flog It!, to sell her Clarice Cliff 'Inspiration' vase at auction.[7] and in June 2018 she appeared on Antiques Roadshow with her collection of swimming memorabilia.[16]

Fisher received in 2018 the British Empire Medal, as part of the Queen's New Year Honours list, for her achievements in the sport of swimming.[17] A blue plaque in her honour was erected in Grimsby in 2017.[18]