Pat Gallant-Charette

From Openwaterpedia

Pat Gallant-Charette is a marathon swimmer from Westbrook, Maine. The 61-year-old full-time nurse has completed her swim across the English Channel on her third attempt at crossing the channel (15 hours 57 minutes) in August 2011. The English Channel Swim Association awarded her the 2011 "Rosemary George Award for the Most Meritorious Swim of the Year". Her first crossing was in 2008, when currents forced her back 1.7 miles from the French coast. The second attempt was canceled in 2009 due to weather conditions.

She also completed a very fast crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco (3 hours 28 minutes) in 2010. She also completed the Catalina Channel in October 2011 in a time of 14 hours 11 minutes to become the oldest women to ever complete the Catalina Channel. She was nominated for the 2011 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year. Pat is the founder of "Swim for your Heart..Feb 14" a yearly global swim event to bring an awareness of heart disease and prevention. In 2012, Pat was selected as one of 101 women worldwide as "101 Movers and Shakers" in the world of open water swimming. She is scheduled to swim Tsugaru Strait in Japan (September 2012) and Cook Strait in New Zealand (February/March 2013) in her quest for the Oceans Seven Challenge.

Videos

References

• Pat Gallant-Charette Blog
• Open Water Swimming
• World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year
• Swimming the Strait of Gibraltar
• Swim For Your Heart