Stella Taylor

Stella Taylor (December 20, 1929 – February 11, 2003) was an American long-distance swimmer born in Bristol, England, best known for crossing the English Channel twice and holding Guinness Book of Records recognition (1974 to 1994) as the oldest woman to swim across the Channel. She made her first English channel crossing in August 1973 in 15:25, from England to France, when she was around the age of 43, repeating the swim in 1975 in 18:15 at the age of 45. According to friends, her relationship with her father provided some insight into her character. Her father Roy Taylor had been a former swimmer and high-diver. She began doing household chores at the age of five. Stella would swim laps while her father Roy practiced diving and was expected to continue until he had finished. He instructed her to swim alongside him when he was boating and would reward her with a piece of candy when she swam well.

Early swim career In the early 1960s, Taylor moved to Miami and then to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she would spend the rest of her life.

Professions outside swimming Professionally, Taylor taught at the Fort Lauderdale Oral School until around 1965, Taylor never married, and her medical expenses and insurance near the end of her life had drained her savings to the point where her medical bills were not getting paid until a friend successfully took up a collection.

Selected swims

Taylor made many notable marathon swims:

On August 10, 1973, at around 43 years of age, Taylor swam the English Channel southward from England to France in 15 hours, 25 minutes earning her notoriety as the oldest woman to swim across the Channel. She was congratulated by the Queen of England. On June 11, 1977, Taylor completed the night-time Lake George marathon solo swim in Eastern New York, in 26 hours 51 minutes, making her the oldest person to complete the swim and the fastest, receiving a $2000 prize, while breaking the previous record by 4 hours. The 32-mile (51.5 km) swim commemorates the first lake-crossing swim in 1958 by Diane Struble, a 25-year-old single mother. On August 14, 1978, around 48, Taylor made an unsuccessful attempt to swim the Atlantic Ocean from Gun Cay, ten miles South of Bimini of the Western Bahamas to Palm Beach, Florida, but had to stop just a few miles short of her goal when the tides turned against her, and though she aimed for Palm Beach, she had no specific destination in mind when the Gulf Stream affected her course. Sharks circled her in her attempts to complete the approximate 100 mile distance. She was swimming strongly, 70 strokes to the minute, but was repeatedly forced to seek shelter in the boat that was escorting her because of prowling sharks, and according to one source swam for around 32 hours before ending the swim. She attempted that swim a total of four times. In August 1979, ten foot waves forced her to quit after 20 hours. On July 7, 1980, at 50, she finished in 25th place around Absecon Island in Atlantic City's 23.5 Mile "Around the Island Swim", completing the race in 7:51:12, and earning $150.00. On April 12, 1981, at age 51, she did a 31-mile swim in around 20:11 across Lake Okeechobee from Moore Haven to Belle Glade, Florida, with the water at 54 F. On August 22, 1981, at around 51 years of age, Taylor swam the 24 miles across Scotland's Loch Ness in 18 hours, 58 minutes with the fastest woman's time, shattering the 1967 record of Brenda Sheratt of 31.5 hours. After she finished, she said, "Something big touched [my] foot at the start... The water was 45-48°F (7.2-8.8°C)…I had five pounds of grease on to keep warm. Loch Ness is the hardest swim I’ve ever done and I will probably swim the Irish Sea next year.” Around April 9, 1982 in Fort Lauderdale around the age of 52, Taylor entered the pool at the International Swimming Hall of Fame on a Tuesday at 10 p.m. She swam laps in the 55-yard pool and remained there swimming until Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. for a total of 65 hours. The swim broke the Guinness Book of World Records for a continuous swim without stopping in a fresh water pool, by around 4 hours. Some sources vary as to the distance she swam, but she completed 3,000 turns or lengths and around 81 miles, according to the Tampa Tribune, Fort Lauderdale News, and the Tallahassee Democrat, which published their story the day after the swim. After the swim, she received a plaque from Fort Lauderdale Mayor Robert Dressler, as a crowd of around 300 watched her finish. She completed a 24 Hour swim in Lake Louie or Lac Louis in Quebec, known as 24 Heures La Tuque or the 24 Hour LaTuque Marathon Swim in the area of North Central Quebec, on the St. Maurice. The swim was swum as a non-stop relay and the course was only slightly over 1/3 of a mile allowing fans on shore to cheer on the competitors. In April 1971, ranking second in the world among professional women marathon swimmers, she was part of the competition in Egypt, completing seven miles of the Nassar Swim in Aswan around a 14-mile closed loop in 10 hours, taking home a little prize money. Amidst strong current, 10 foot waves and strong winds, she came in fourth place in the Nile Swim, completing the 20 mile course within the 11 hour time limit, though earning only $75.

Honors She was a member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame where she was inducted in 1982 as an honor swimmer.