Super Padfield swimmer scoops world record

Super swimmer Helen Tonge has splashed her way into the record books after escaping from Alcatraz - three times.

Helen, from Padfield, completed the three hair-raising swims from the world famous prison island two years ago and has just been recognised as a world record holder by Guinness and the World Open Water Swimming Association.

Her cumulative time was three hours 45 minutes 16 seconds. For record-setting purposes, all three swims had to be completed in four days without a wetsuit.

Brave Helen, 43, who swam at Stalybridge Swimming Club when she was a child, thought up the Alcatraz swim ten years ago after visiting the city.

TAKING THE PLUNGE: Helen Tonge in the open water. Image: James Statham. 

She said: “I had read a lot about how prisoners had tried to escape on numerous occasions and the majority had failed (many drowned) because the conditions in the San Francisco Bay were treacherous. That piqued my interest, but it wasn’t until a decade later I decided to do something about it and go over to America to see if I could make it across the water.

“My wonderful mum, Patricia, had passed away in the March of 2018. She had been my number one fan throughout all my years of swimming and had supported me from the moment I started as a child.  

“I have done a few pretty big challenges over the years, but Alcatraz was still on the list. I initially had the idea of swimming just one escape route from Alcatraz to test myself and see if I was strong enough to swim in those conditions. 

“As I started to research the history of the old prison and the prisoners who had tried to escape, I found out that there were in fact three routes that different prisoners had tried to swim to escape what was considered one of the worst prisons in America. So then I thought, ‘why not do all three then?!’”

Helen, who lived in Stalybridge and Mottram most of her life before moving to Padfield three years ago, said the water in the Bay of San Francisco is notoriously difficult, with ebbs and flows that make swimming quite dangerous.

She added: “I had plenty of my friends reminding me that sharks were often spotted in the bay, those along with the strong currents and lots of freight ships and various vessels meant I had my work cut out!

“I got in touch with a local swimming club in San Francisco - Water World Swim. They were amazing at working with me to make this happen. I needed proper professional guidance with people who knew the waters. They helped to map out the routes, liaise with the coastguards etc… and they were wonderful moral support.”

Helen arrived in the city the day before her first swim and had to acclimatise quickly.

IN THE DEEP: Helen in San Francisco Bay. Photo: James Statham. 

She added: “My first swim gave me a real taste of the strength of the water. I swam to St Francis on the mainland. The current swept me further out towards the Golden Gate Bridge, so I ended up doing half a mile more than I’d hoped.

“My second swim to Horseshoe Bay was by far the hardest. The conditions were tricky and it was touch and go on whether I would be allowed to swim, but in the end we went.  

“I ended up swimming against the swell for around 40 minutes as I set off - almost like being on a treadmill in the water. I didn’t move. Then the underwater currents and changes kept pushing and pulling me in all directions. It was mentally tough and I got really cold, but got there in the end.

“My third swim to Angel Island I enjoyed the most. Conditions were good, I felt fast. But I still landed at a different spot than planned because the currents changed last minute and pulled me to the rocks.

“I certainly came away with a new found respect for the water and an understanding of just how hard it must have been for anyone with little or no experience trying to navigate those waters all those years ago!”

Helen said she set the Alcatraz swims up to raise money for Wood Street Mission in Manchester and raised enough money to kit 25 children out with everything they needed for school.

She explained her love of swimming started when she joined Stalybridge Swimming Club when she was eight, only stopping swimming there when she had her daughter at 36.

PROUD: Helen’s daughter Ava with her mum’s world record certificate. Photo: Nigel Wood. 

For years she did pool swimming and competed in the local championships and at County level for Cheshire.

She added: “I was lucky to do very well in those over the years. Brian Ward and everyone else at the club were incredible coaches. I didn’t quite realise how many skills I developed - physically and psychologically, until years later.

“My love for open water only started in my late 20s when I agreed to a bet with a friend to swim from France to Alderney in the Channel Islands. That was an epic adventure! 

“I later found out I was the first person to successfully to do it! Two men had tried and failed. No women had tried. So I was immensely proud (after a bout of hypothermia).”

Stalybridge coach Brian Ward said: “Helen was brought to my attention  at the age of  nine when I swam her in every  gala. 

“Her only problem was while we were waiting for the coach to arrive Helen would be climbing trees, falling out once and breaking her arm! 

“She swam in the Central Lancs Senior League where she won the 100m free for many years on the trot, until going to university. 

“I think Helen’s record in Central Lancs has never been broken.”

Main image:

Helen Tonge with her certificate. Photo: Nigel Wood.