Fighting the Current: The Rise of American Women's Swimming, 1870-1926

by Lisa Bier

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first female to swim the English Channel--and broke the existing record time in doing so. Although today she is considered a pioneer in women's swimming, women were swimming competitively 50 years earlier. This historical book details the early period of women's competitive swimming in the United States, from its beginnings in the nineteenth century through Ederle's astonishing accomplishment. Women and girls faced many obstacles to safe swimming opportunities, including restrictive beliefs about physical abilities, access to safe and clean water, bathing suits that impeded movement and became heavy in water, and opposition from official sporting organizations. The stories of these early swimmers plainly show how far female athletes have come.

Genres: History

220 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2011

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to learn more about the early days of women’s swimming after we watched The Young Woman and the Sea on Disney+, about Gertrude Ederle. WOW, did that movie mess with that story. (Fun fact, there were actually several women vying for the opportunity to be the first woman to swim the channel. I would have loved THAT movie!)

But also, there were so many women advocating for involvement in sports, as well as public life and water safety. I’m so glad I learned more about these women—not just Trudy Ederle!

[Robert Andres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not enough struggle and/or adversity to keep me interested. Women had private facilities when they wanted them, they swam competitively, for distance, and for entertainment right from the beginning. Their bathing suits were a lot more revealing for their time than I expected they would be. I thought there would be a whole gaggle of men trying to put a stop to women getting in the water but there wasn't.