Marcy Macdonald

Marcy MacDonald to be inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame

MacDonald, who also coaches a youth swim team, made her first English Channel crossing on June 30, 1994 and her last one last September. She has also swam the 28-mile Manhattan Island Marathon five times, the 17-mile Swim Across the Sound in Bridgeport nine times as either an individual or relay, the 41-mile Round Jersey Swim in the UK, the Catalina Channel swim (20 miles from Catalina Island to the California coast) and a 12.4-mile swim around Mercer Island in Washington, among others. She became the first American to swim the 23-mile length of Loch Ness in Scotland in 2015.

“I always know it’s a team effort,” MacDonald said. “It’s an induction of my team.”

MacDonald and her team plans to head back to the English Channel this summer for another crossing, which she hopes will occur around the 25th anniversary of her first.

“I love the Channel because it’s the most challenging swim,” MacDonald said. “Every time you go there, there’s something different. My destiny lies in the Channel.”

MacDonald grew up in Manchester and currently works there. Last spring, the town’s West Side pool was named in her honor.