As a child, Sarah Thomas dreamt of swimming the English Channel. She became an open water marathon swimmer and recently became the first person to swim across the English Channel four times non-stop. Thomas’ 54-hour feat of endurance is amazing and hard to believe as she is a breast cancer survivor.

Sarah Thomas, 37, who hails from the US state of Colorado is ecstatic and elated about her achievement. She covered close to  130 miles (209 kilometres) due to strong tides. Earlier, only four swimmers have covered the approximately 21-mile Channel crossing between Britain and France three times without stopping.

Limit Of Human Endurance

This extraordinary feat was very tough for Thomas who had to deal with saltwater that left her throat and mouth sore. She also got stung in the face by a jellyfish. Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh applauded her and wrote on Twitter that her achievement was “extraordinary, amazing, super-human”.

Thomas drank a protein recovery drink mixed with electrolytes and caffeine every 30 minutes that helped her complete the feat.

Battle With Cancer

Before setting off for the record-breaking swim, Thomas wrote that the swim was dedicated to all cancer survivors, to all who have wondered with despair about what comes next, and have battled through pain and fear to overcome. Thomas was at the peak of her swimming achievements when she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.

Thomas fought cancer and said that it has become a part of her story now. She said that even if cancer returned, she would be happy that she did everything she wanted to do in life

Image Source: Real Talk Time