Sarah Thomas Swims The English Channel Four Times Continually In 54 Hours

Sarah Thomas, an American national, became first woman to swim the English Channel four times in a row. 37-year-old Sarah is also the first person to achieve that feat.

Sarah, who accepted the audacious challenge in the early hours on Sunday, took around 54 hours to accomplish it, BBC reported.

Thomas, the open water ultra Marathon swimmer, who survived breast cancer after receiving a substantial treatment a year ago, dedicated her achievement to “all the survivors out there”. Sarah’s strong resolve had definitely set an example for those who aspire to swim the English Channel.

Even though Thomas was pushed by overpowering tides on the final leg, she remained undaunted until she had the last laugh. She finished the fourth round on Tuesday at about 6:30 BST.

After coming ashore Thomas told BBC, “I just can't believe we did it." Further adding that she planned to sleep for the day, “I'm pretty tired right now."

Swimmer Lewis Pugh congratulated Thomas in a Tweet saying, “Just when we think we've reached the limit of human endurance, someone shatters the records."

Thomas revealed that the hardest part of the entire undertaking was dealing with the salt water, which left her with a sore throat and mouth.

But, Thomas added, “My crew was really great about helping me out and keeping me strong, every length had something that was really hard about it. Coming back from France the last time was definitely hard. It took forever and the current pushed me all over. I got stung in the face by a jellyfish and it wasn't as cold as I thought it might be but it was still chilly."

Thomas was preceded by four swimmers to have swum the English Channel three times but she is the first to complete the fourth leg successfully.

An elated mother of Thomas, Becky Baxter, told BBC Radio 4: "I've been on a lot of her trips. This was by far the scariest."

Baxter revealed that Thomas has a freakish nature but she did have "a lot of trouble with stomach ache" on this trip.

Baxter was quoted as saying, "We were a little worried at the end of the first day as she was not able to hold anything down."

Thomas swore by a protein recovery drink mixed with electrolytes and a little bit of caffeine to deal with offset sleepiness. Thomas, who covered close to 130 miles swimming, was called “absolutely inspirational” by Official observer Kevin Murphy.