Alison Streeter

Who is Alison Streeter?

Alison Streeter MBE is a British long-distance swimmer. She has swum across the English Channel 43 times, more than anyone in the world and earning her the title of Queen of the English Channel. This total includes a triple-channel swim. She also completed seven Channel crossings in one year. She set the female record for a Channel swim from France to England, in 1988. She was the first woman to swim the Channel three ways non-stop in 1990, taking 34h40 min for the feat.

The Queen appointed Streeter a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1991 for her swimming prowess and charity fundraising. To date she has raised over £100,000 for various charities.

In May 2006, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

In 1988, Streeter became the first woman to swim across the North Channel. She repeated the swim in 1989 and 1997. She currently holds the women's world record for the most number of North Channel crossings, and is tied with Kevin Murphy for the overall world record of most crossings. In all of history, only ten solo swimmers have succeeded in crossing the North Channel.