MERIDIAN — In 1926, American teenager Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel, accomplishing the feat with a quicker time than the five men who had crossed before her.

A century later, Christine "Chrissy" Turpin completed the milestone with her own history-making twist: she is believed to be the first Idahoan to make the fabled swim from England to France.

"I swam 100 years and a few hours after the first woman to ever swim the English Channel," Turpin, 47, of Meridian, said. "She's a big role model of mine, really changed the possibilities for women in sports forever."

'I thought it was crazy'

The mother of two, who grew up in Las Vegas and has lived in Idaho since 2004, said she has known how to swim for longer than she can remember.

Though she could be found in the pool year-round throughout her childhood, Turpin took a hiatus from the sport after high school and the birth of her sons, now young adults. She hadn't been athletic for about 15 years, but then a friend urged her to try running, seeking a partner for a half-marathon. It proved to be her gateway back to the water.

"I already know how to swim, and now I know how to run, so maybe I should do a triathlon," she thought, deciding to add cycling to her repertoire. "I did the Spudman in Burley and loved that, then I heard about the half Ironman here in Boise and signed up for that. I did the one in Coeur d'Alene as my first (full Ironman)."

After almost a decade of full Ironmans, in 2023, Turpin's siblings began floating the idea of the English Channel with her.

Her initial reaction?

"Oh, definitely no! I thought it was crazy, but really interesting and fascinating," Turpin recalled. "Then I went home and I studied and read about it. I just couldn't stop thinking about it and just how awesome that would be, swimming from England to France."

Before long, her mind was made up.

In winter, Turpin's training was limited to indoor pools, where she spent hours completing nearly 800 laps in a day. By spring, temperatures were warm enough to dip into Quinn's Pond, and then Lucky Peak, where she trained throughout the summers.

Earlier this year, she traveled to the San Diego area to participate in an open water swimming camp in La Jolla, and to Chesapeake Bay to do a six-hour qualifier swim in 60-degree waters in order to attempt the English Channel. By the end, Turpin was swimming for up to 25 hours per week.

'I was lucky that I knew a couple days ahead'

Eligibility for the feat is governed by the UK-based Channel Swimming Association. In order to attempt, swimmers must pay a fee, pass a medical exam and complete the qualifier.

The association's waitlists are often up to three years. Swimmers are not assigned a specific day, but are scheduled for a full tide, due to the unpredictability of weather and currents.

"My window was Aug. 4-11, so you just have to be there and available to swim any of those days," Turpin said. "I was lucky that I knew a couple days ahead that it would probably be on Friday, Aug. 7."

While Gertrude Ederle began her swim in France and landed in England, the French government no longer permits athletes to go in that direction.

On her designated Friday morning, Turpin took off shortly before 4 a.m. at the UK's Folkestone Harbor. Accompanying her were requisite pilot Peter Reed, in his vessel, the Rowena; two crew members who would provide her with liquid nutrition every half-hour; an association official to ensure all requirements were followed; a friend from the Sawtooth Masters swim team; and her husband.

"I wasn't allowed to touch the boat, ever. They would stop me every 30 minutes and call me over, and I was just swimming right next to the boat," she said. "I had a bottle tied to a rope, and they would just throw the rope at me or dangle it down."

Water temperatures were about 67 degrees Fahrenheit. The Channel is 21 miles wide at its narrowest, but due to the day's tides, Turpin swam in an S shape rather than a straight line, making for a distance of 30.5 miles.

She also had to contend with motion sickness amid strong winds and was stung by jellyfish several times.

Turpin's final time was 15 hours and 5 minutes, placing her in the 65th percentile for her age group.

"It was the perfect place to land," she said of her final destination — Wissant, France. "The mayor of Wissant came down to the beach to greet me, and there were probably about 20 people there congratulating me."

As far as she knows, she is the first person from Idaho to successfully swim across the English Channel. Amy Mazur of Moscow attempted last summer, getting about 80% of the way to completion.

Next, Turpin hopes to qualify for the Ironman world championship in Hawaii, and she has her sights on the 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan.

In the meantime, she has a special souvenir commemorating her feat at the English Channel, connecting her to others who have made the journey.

"There's a tradition where you grab a pebble from the beach and take it back home with you," she said. "So I looked around and found a pebble and I grabbed that."