MERIDIAN, Idaho — A Meridian woman has completed a solo swim across the entire English Channel — a 30.44-mile crossing from Samphire Hoe Beach in England to Wissant, France. That's roughly 447 football fields lined up end to end.
Christine Turpin, who said her love of swimming started when she was young, completed the swim in just over 15 hours.
"I don't even remember...I've just always been swimming," Turpin said.
WATCH | Meridian woman swims English Channel solo in 15 hours
Her passion for swimming led her to compete in other sports, including an Ironman race a few years ago. The idea for the Channel crossing came after she heard her siblings talking about how cool it would be to swim across it.
"I thought that sounded crazy. And I was like, definitely not. I would never want to do that. But I went home and I researched, and I looked it up, and I thought about it," Turpin said.
The swim would be considerably longer than any competition she had previously experienced.
"I just knew I had to do it," Turpin said.
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Turpin began the lengthy swim early in the morning, when visibility was nearly nonexistent.
"It was totally black, just pitch black everywhere, and just the boats lit up," Turpin said.
The crossing came with significant difficulties, including wind, 10-foot waves, debris, and swarms of jellyfish.
"Huge swarms of it and the water was murky, so I couldn't see that I was coming at them until they were right there and I just swam right through them," Turpin said.
Turpin showed the marks she still has from the stings.
At one point, Turpin didn't think she was going to make it. Her husband, Ryan, who was on the boat sailing alongside her, called in reinforcements.
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"I called my oldest son and he just said, 'tell mom to finish strong'," Ryan Turpin recounted.
That one sentence gave Turpin a boost of motivation, pushing her closer to the shores of France.
"I just knew I couldn't quit...No matter what happened out there," Turpin said.
Hours later, Turpin's hand scooped up sand.
"I took a stroke, and I felt the sand. I felt my fingers go through sand...and it was just unbelievable," Turpin said.
Fifteen hours after launching from England, she had reached France.
"Just the adrenaline...I didn't know if my legs would work, but the adrenaline got to me, and I ran to shore. And put up my hands and heard the boat and knew I was done," Turpin said.
Ryan Turpin watched from the boat as his wife crossed the finish.
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"Waterworks turned on. I couldn't help it. I was so, so proud." Ryan Turpin said.
Turpin's sons and swim coach watched her progress from home. Her swim coach said watching Turpin's progress made her proud and emotional.
"The mayor was there waiting to greet me. Which was so cool, and I could hear him with his French accent talking to me, and I just couldn't believe I was in France." Turpin said.
Turpin said that while she is proud of her accomplishment, she does not see herself crossing the Channel again.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
