(ARA) - Michelle Wie. Danika Patrick. Epiphany Prince.
Whether it's earning a top finish in a men's tournament or scoring over 100 points in a high school basketball game, women are breaking barriers in sports everywhere we look. These are just a few of the current role models empowering women to reach their athletic potential.
But it wasn't that long ago that it was considered unusual for women to excel at sports. One of the first barrier-breakers was Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926. Her time of 14 hours, 39 minutes smashed the previous (men's) record by two hours and proved that women are not physically inferior to men in competitive athletics.
"People said women couldn't swim the Channel, but I proved they could," Ederle said at the time. "All the women of the world will celebrate."
Not only did Ederle inspire thousands of women to learn how to swim, she also started a movement to advance the acceptance of women in sports. She went on to set 29 U.S. and world records, including a 22-mile swim from Manhattan to Sandy Hook, N.J., illustrating women's potential in athletics.
One woman influenced by Ederle's success was an Australian ultra-distance swimmer named Tammy van Wisse.
On July 21st, the 37-year-old Australian honored her childhood hero by freestyling the 22 miles from Manhattan to Sandy Hook. With a time of 5 hours, 6 minutes, van Wisse broke Ederle's 81-year-old record by more than two hours.
"I wanted to continue Gertrude's legacy by encouraging a new generation of women to become physically active and by sharing my belief that the impossible can be turned into the possible if you work hard and believe in yourself," says van Wisse, who has now set 12 Australian and world records.
Van Wisse said she wanted to repeat Ederle's feat to fulfill a childhood dream. She felt the need to pay homage to Ederle for paving the way for her - and for women around the world -- to do big things in the competitive sports arena.
During the world record ceremony that followed her swim, van Wisse said she was grateful that Ederle was daring enough to challenge the false notion that women didn't belong in competitive sports.
In addition to hard work and dedication, van Wisse credits the Access Bar by Melaleuca for giving her sustained energy throughout the ultra-distance race. The bar converts a person's stored fat cells into immediate energy, which helped Tammy maintain the high pace of 89 strokes per minute over the long distance and reduce her recovery time.
"What Tammy did today was incredible," said Gertrude Ederle's nephew, Bobby Ederle of the Bronx, who was among 30 people who rode in boats alongside van Wisse. "She made the swim look effortlessly easy. My Aunt Trudy would have been proud of her."
While van Wisse loved the challenge of breaking the world record, inspiring girls to tap their inner strength and physical prowess was the most important aspect of the swim for her.
"By me fulfilling my dreams, others will see that as long as they keep their goal dangling in front of them, they can accomplish anything in life," she said.
"Gertrude lived a life full of amazing firsts mixed with devastating setbacks, but most importantly, in the face of adversity she never gave up. Her spirit continues to inspire me to keep reaching for my goals."
As for her next adventure, van Wisse said, "I'm in New York for a few days. I'll be on a shopping marathon."
For more information on the record-breaking swim by van Wisse or the Access Bar, visit www.tammyvanwisse.com.
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