In month of March, we are close to Easter holidays, but, there are more things to celebrate before Easter. The month of March (1-31 March)- is Women’s History month with 8th of March it’s the International Women’s Day and we would like to use this opportunity to talk about important women in swimming. In 2025, we celebrated two significant dates; the 8th of March and Sunday 30th of March, the Mother’s Day in U.K.
We wouldn’t have been where we are now if we didn’t have such dedicated groups of mums and grandmothers, and our female swimming teachers and coaches who are making learning to swim possible for our swimmers.
But, we thought it would be good to mention a few names in the swimming world in relation to Women’s History Month. These women are important because they have contributed the world of swimming by breaking barriers and making swimming more interesting and accessabile, for different reasosn.
was the first female swimmer who swam the English Channel in 1926. She did it 2 hours faster than all 5 male swimmers who swam the channel before her. One of her nicknames was Queen of the Waves. She was born in the U.S and learned to swim at the local public pool. She dropped out of school when she was a teenager to swim competitively. She joined the Women’s Swimming Association and won her first local competition at age 16. Two years later, she made it to the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
England’s longest-reigning monarch passed away at age 96 in 2022. Among Queen Elizabeth’s many youthful activities was swimming. Queen Elizabeth II, was the first young person to achieve the Junior Respiration Award from the Royal Life Saving Society. As Princess Elizabeth, The Queen became the first young person in the Commonwealth to achieve the Junior Respiration Award.
Kristin Otto is a former German swimmer and Olympic, World and European champion, multiple times. She was born in 1966 in East Germany. In 1988 represented Easy Germany in Seoul Olympic Games in South Korea. Kristin Otto is most famous for being the first woman to win six gold medals at a single Olympic Games in Seoul. Her record of winning 6 gold medals in one Olympic by a female swimmer remains unbeaten. She held world records in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events. Kristin was also the first woman to swim the short course 100 meter backstroke in under a minute. She now is a TV presenter and sport journalist in Germany and mentors the new generation of swimmers.
Enith born in the Caribbean, represented the Netherlands in 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada. She is the first black swimmer and the first black female swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the Olympic games. Enith Brigitha took home bronze medals in the 100 and 200-metres freestyle at the Montreal Olympic Games. You can listen to her remarkable story here in this BBC podcast. Enith paved ways for the new generation of swimmers by breaking down the barriers and challenging the stereotypes around black people and swimming. Later on in 2016 Rio Olympics, Simone Monuel, from the U.S.A, became the first female swimmer to win a gold medal but, she shared first place with the Canadian swimmer, Penny Oleksiak. Simone has spoken openly about racism in swimming.
Rikako is a Japanese swimmer who by the age of 23 represented Japan in 3 Olympic games. After her first Olympic in 2016, in 2019 she was diagnosed with Leukemia (cancer). What makes her story so remarkable is how after an intensive cancer treatment, Rikako Ikee came back to swimming and made it to the Japanese swimming team and was selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She was a key member of the Japanese women’s medley, freestyle, and mixed medley relays at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. She has been training in Australia since 2023 and plans to make it to the Olympics for LA 2028.
Julie is a PE teacher at Loughborough University. She completed the gruelling 22-mile swim of the English Channel in 14 hours and 18 minutes. What made it impressive was that she swam all of the English Channel using butterfly stroke.
Like most teaching jobs, the proportion of female workforce in the swimming teaching profession is high. So, in March, it would not be fair not to mention the massive contribution women keep making towards swimming. They help and support thousands of children around the world to learn this important life skill and great sport.
Just a quick reminder that the arrival of the third month of the year, it means Mother’s Day and Easter holidays are close.
So, if you’d like to do something worthwhile over the Easter break why not consider Easter crash courses? For those looking for a nice and long-lasting gift for Mother’s Day, why not book some 1:1 adult swimming lessons?
A good swim school with professional staff
April 19, 2021, www.yell.com
Easter 2021 Crash Course
Various lockdowns have held back my daughter’s swimming development so we opted for a crash 4 day course over Easter and she has come away from it much more confident and with a recognisable stroke as opposed to doggy paddle!
April 19, 2021, www.yell.com
Although I have only attended two lessons, Marjan’s bubbly personality makes you feel instantly at ease. During the lessons, the pool was not very busy which is a good thing (as opposed to public pools) for those who are anxious.
I would strongly recommend to adults who have experienced trauma with water at a certain time in their lives.
November 24, 2020, www.yell.com
My son has been going to swimming lessons at Blue Wave in Wimbledon for a few years now and thoroughly enjoys it. The teaching is great and the lessons well run. Helps to prepare him for when we finally get to go on holiday again!
September 26, 2020, www.yell.com
Highly Recommended
My son went to improve his swimming technique and found his instructor very helpful, very kind and patient. The school itself is very welcoming and feels safe for all the children who go there. I would highly recommend it.
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Excellent results
My son is 4 years-old and we were looking for weekend swimming classes in a nice environment that could bring good results. After some research we chose Blue Wave Swim. Our son has been having private lessons since the end of 2018 and he is progressing very well. We believe the professionalism of the team, the clean and tidy infrastructure, and the good care of the management are contributing for his development and confidence in the water. Thank you very much Blue Wave Swim!
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Awesome!
I am grateful to Marjan and her team at Blue Wave Swim for their hard work and for promoting happiness and enjoyment in swimming. It is amazing to watch the lessons, see the attention, the encouragement and the support the children receive. I have been impressed with my daughters’ progress and the fact that they love attending their classes and learning a vital life skill. Thank you very much. Great job!
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Superb Swimming School in Wimbledon
My daughter, who is now 7 years old, started with blue wave two years back and we have been very happy with her progress at the school. Initially we started with group lessons but once she got comfortable in water we moved her to semi private lessons, which made a lot of difference in her ability to learn swimming. As part of the smaller group she is better bonded with other children in the group and gets more attention from the swimming instructor, which is helping her advance her swimming skills. During her 2 years with blue wave, swimming instructors for my daughter have changed and while continuity in learning was maintained, I think this could have been managed better. Needless to say, she still goes and enjoys her time here and looks forward to her class every week. Overall we are very pleased with Blue Wave and would recommend them without any hesitation.
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Highly recommend
Highly recommend this swimming school. My daughter has been attending since she was 1 years old and she loves it. The teachers are very good with children and my daughter, who is now 4 years old is very confident in the water.
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
