Julie Bradshaw
Dr. Julie Bradshaw MBE is a 2006 inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. She holds 14 world records for long distance and Channel swimming dating from 1979. She was awarded MBE in New Years Honours list 2006 for “Services to swimming and charity”.
Since the age of 15 years old, Bradshaw has raised many thousands of pounds for charity. The money raised from Channel swim in 1979, began the Fylde Hospice in Blackpool. She serves as a Director on the Board of The Channel Swimming Association where she is also the Assistant Secretary.
Contents
World Records
- first relay triple-crossing of Loch Ness in 32 hours 34 minutes in 2005.
- relay double-crossing of the English Channel in 19 hours 7 minutes in 2004
- butterfly crossing of the English Channel in 14 hours 18 minutes in 2002
- butterfly crossing of 16.8 km (10.5-mile) Windermere in 6 hours 7 minutes in 1991
- 67.5 km (42-mile) quadruple crossing of Windermere in 21 hours 17 minutes.
- Bradshaw’s illustrious swimming career began at the age of 15, when she became the fastest British Junior to swim the English Channel. Her world record collection began in the 1980’s and included a 4-way Windermere solo swim in 23 hours 17 minutes.
- This continued through the 1990s (her ‘butterfly’ exploits began) and into this decade.
- In 2002, she achieved her 12th world record with the butterfly solo swim of the English Channel in 14 hours 18 minutes.
- On 16 July 2011, Bradshaw swam butterfly around Manhattan Island in New York in 9 hours 28 minutes.
- In 2006, she swam Lough Erne in Ireland 10½ miles butterfly in hours 41 minutes.
- In 2006, she made a 2-way crossing of Lake Bala (6½ miles) in 5 hours 2 minutes.
- In 2000, she completed a butterfly 2-way crossing of Coniston of 11 miles in 8 hours 42 minutes
- In 2000, she completed a butterfly crossing of 7¼ miles in Ullswater in 4 hours 29 minutes.
- In 2004, she organized and swam on Julie Bradshaw's Ladies Relay where 6 swimmers swam a three-way crossing of the English Channel in 2004 in 32 hours 31 minutes to set a Channel Swimming Association record for the Fastest Ladies Relay - 3 Way E-F-E-F. and was awarded the Fastest 2 Way Ladies Relay Team, the Fastest Ladies Relay Team, and the Greatest Feat of Endurance by a Ladies Relay Team for 2004 by the Channel Swimming Association.
Bio
Bradshaw is a qualified Teacher and Swimming Teacher and lectures part-time at Loughborough University in the Sport and Exercise Department. She is also a Professional Psychological Therapist/Counsellor, and a Coach and Trainer of NLP, Time Line Therapy and Hypnosis. Bradshaw is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and is CRB checked. In her spare time, she is Secretary of the Channel Swimming Association Ltd., where she shares her experience and expertise, enabling swimmers to achieve their dream of swimming the English Channel.
Alongside her swimming, she works part-time as a PE Lecturer at Loughborough University and is a Counsellor with Open Door (Young People’s Service) and a College in Loughborough. She also runs her own successful private Counselling and Therapy service. In addition, she is a Motivational and After Dinner Speaker, traveling the country inspiring others with her talks and stories.
Honours
Her reputation had earned her several prestigious Honours. In 2004 she was nominated for the Sunday Times Inspirational Award and in 2006 Bradshaw was awarded an MBE for her ‘Services to Swimming and Charity’ and the same year Loughborough University in recognition of her outstanding achievements conferred upon her an Honorary Doctorate. And 2007, saw Julie recognized further with a place in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Bradshaw continues to excel in sport and this excellence extends into all other areas of her life. She gains great pleasure out of helping children, students, adults and athletes, watching them transform their lives and maximizing their potential.
Taupo x 3 Relay
Bradshaw was a member of the Taupo x 3 relay, a three-way crossing of Lake Taupo by a 5-person male team and a 6-person female team of experienced open water swimmers in January 2009. The Taupo x 3 relay teams set a world lake swimming record by completing a 126 km (78.2 miles) triple-crossing of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand under organisers Chris Palfrey, Penny Palfrey, and Julie Bradshaw. The swim started at 5:33 am on 5 January 2009.
The men's relay team finished in 33 hours 31 minutes 15 seconds and included Steve Junk (Australia), Mark Cockroft (New Zealand), Dougal Hunt (Australia), Chris Palfrey (Australia), and Stephen Spence (Australia) with New Zealand legend Philip Rush as the escort pilot. The women’s relay team finished in 33 hours 33 minutes 45 seconds and included Julie Bradshaw (England), Michelle Macy (USA), Barbara Pellick (Australia), Penny Palfrey (Australia), Lucy Roper (England), and Heather Osborn (New Zealand).
The plan was to start at first light from near Tokaanu, at the southern most point of the lake, heading roughly north east past Motutaiko Island, cutting close to Rangitiri point, before finishing on the beach in front of the Waikato River. The distance by GPS for one lap was 40.2 km. The second lap retraced the course back to the starting point and the final lap was a repeat of the first.
The men finished the first leg of 40.2 km in a time of 10 hours 22 minutes; the women finished in 10 hours 28 minutes. The men finished the second leg of 40.2 km in 12 hours 15 minutes; the women finished in 12 hours 19 minutes. The men finished the third leg of 40.2 km in 10 hours 54 minutes; the women finished in 10 hours 53 minutes. Both teams broke the world relay record set in December 2008 by 2 teams of 50 swimmers, each doing 2 km, who covered 100 km in 37 hours 6 minutes.
Videos
World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women
She was named to the list of World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women by the World Open Water Swimming Association in 2015.
External links
- The Best Open Water Swimmers from 1950 to 2020
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2010's
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1990's
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1980's
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1970's
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1960's
- The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1950's
- National Honors Awarded to Open Water Swimmers
- 1982 Windermere International Championships
- Dr. Julie Bradshaw MBE On Today’s WOWSA Live
- Flat Abs, Fitness And Fly
- Butterfly Can Be Brutal
- Butterfly, Backstroke And Breaststroke In The Open Water
- The World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women
- Bradshaw Does Manhattan Butterfly
- Bradshaw Trains Endlessly
- Open Water Swimming website
- 30 Open Water Swimmers Known By One Name
- Butterfly Swim Rules In The Open Water
- World Record Relay In Lake Taupo
- Triumphant Traversee De La Manche En Papillon
- List Of Butterfly Swims In The Open Water
- The Toughest, Gnarliest Open Water Swimmers Around
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Dan Projansky, 100 Times Or More Butterfly
- Qualifying In Loch Lomond
- Commander Forsberg Starts Loch Lomond Crossings
- What Are Swimmers Known As?
- Record-setting Relays Rock 'N Roll
- Flat Abs, Fitness And Fly
- Negative Splitting Life In The Open Water
- Feeling Young, Getting Younger In The Open Water
- Butterfly Can Be Brutal
- What Is The World's Most Difficult Sports Move?
- Brutal ... Butterfly In The Open Water
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Daily News of Open Water Swimming
- Marathon Swimming
- The Legacy Of Loch Lomond
- Chloë McCardel Soon To Set Off On Historic Four-Way
- Brutal ... Butterfly In The Open Water
- Pace Swimmers With Pat Gallant-Charette On Windermere
