by Graham Tutthill
gtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk

An Australian woman who planned to swim the Channel three ways this week is recovering in hospital after being pulled from the water with hypothermia.

Chloe McCardel set off from Dover on Monday morning and clocked up the fastest time of the year so far on the first leg from England to France – nine hours and three minutes – before setting off back towards the English coast.

But after a total of 17 hours, 35 minutes, when she was six miles from Dover, she was taken out of the water.

Chloe, 25, was taken to hospital where she was admitted to intensive care for her body temperature to be raised to normal.

She made her first Channel swim in 2009 in 12 hours three minutes and returned last year to do a two-way swim in 21 hours 48 minutes. She had anticipated the three-way swim would take more than 30 hours.

Only three people have ever made three-way crossings.

Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation president Nick Adams completed his swim from England to France in 10 hours and 20 minutes and then set off to try and make it two ways.

But he, too, had to be pulled from the water after 15 hours when he was half-way back.

More swims are taking place today, and others are planned for tomorrow if the conditions are favourable.

Full details in this week's Dover Mercury.