Roz Hardiman Talks About Enabling Success On WOWSA Live

Sponsored by KAATSU Global, English Channel.

In 2008, the-then 56-year-old Rosalinda ‘Roz’ Hardima was pulled only 0.7 miles from the French shore in a dramatic 25 hour 14 minute attempt of the English Channel.

Slipping in and out of consciousness, her crew pulled her from the water, ending her dream of crossing the Channel. “I was so nearly there. I’m devastated that I didn’t complete the swim, but I was in a bad way and the boat crew left me in the water until it was clear I was no longer making any headway against the current. They are concerned about the safety of the swimmers and have years of experience. I’m bitterly disappointed, but I’m alive to swim another day,” she said.

Paralyzed from the waist down due to polio in her childhood and needing a wheelchair, her initial attempt did not put a damper on her dreams.

Dial forward to September 2009 and Hardiman finally achieved her channel swimming dream and successfully crossed the Channel in 20 hours 17 minutes – and has gone on to accomplish much more.

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame chairman Ned Denison had a wide-ranging discussion with Hardiman on today’s edition of WOWSA Live. They talked about:

* the impact of the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981
* the impact of broadcasting of the Paralympic Games
* getting in and out of escort boats after channel swims
* swimming across Loch Ness

Copyright © 2008 – 2020 by World Open Water Swimming Association