'I swam the Channel and not even a broken rib could stop me': Shields woman's 2015 heroism

Back in 2015, South Tyneside woman Liz broke more than the bank when she completed a charity swim across the English Channel.

Swimming the Channel with two broken ribs

Liz, from South Shields, broke two ribs as she and friends, Tracey Etherington and Angela Moon, successfully completed the 22-mile crossing and raised £5,240 for the Alzheimer’s Society.

They defied choppy water to swim to France in relays over 14 hours and 25 minutes backed by support boat The Sea Leopard.

Liz said at the time: “The water was very choppy in the middle of the Channel and when the boat dropped five feet, I went up in the air. On the way down I hit the rail with my ribs.

‘I was determined to crack on and did three more swims in the relay’

“We had trained all year and I was determined to crack on and did three more swims in the relay.

“The water was so cold that it helped numb the pain, but I could hear a click in my chest with every arm throw as I swam.”

Back on dry land while recovering from the injury, Liz was unable to laugh or lie down and had to spend the nights sleeping sat up.

Liz and her companions, who were sisters from Gateshead, had practiced in open water off Roker without wet suits, which are barred in the rules for swimming the Channel.

‘We dodged an enormous swarm of jelly fish’

Angela, 47, triumphantly completed the last leg and with the tide against her, scrambling over sharp rocks to touch down on French shores.

Tracey, 45, who suffered a shoulder injury, said: “We dodged an enormous swarm of jelly fish, and seagulls escorted our boat all of the way to France.

‘A dolphin kept nudging Liz’s toes’

“Liz was joined on her last swim by a dolphin, which kept nudging her toes seeming to urge her on. We have had a fantastic once-in- a-lifetime experience.”

Rebecca Scott, Alzheimer’s Society community fundraiser for the North East said at the time that Liz, Tracey and Angela were ‘inspirational women who did a fantastic job in the face of very tough conditions, showing a breathtaking level of determination - I take off my swimming cap to all three of them!’

Caps off indeed but we want to know what happened to the terrific trio.

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