Cancer survivor Sarah Thomas sets record, swims English Channel four times non-stop

The swim, which was supposed to be of nearly 84 miles, ended up being about 130 miles due to strong currents, but Thomas successfully completed the challenge in 54 hours and 13 minutes, fighting the severe cold and as she later revealed, a jellyfish sting.

A breast cancer survivor, Sarah Thomas, completed her treatment only a year ago after being diagnosed with the disease in 2017.

Open water ultra-marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas has become the first person to swim across the English Channel four times without a break. The swim, which was supposed to be of nearly 84 miles, ended up being about 130 miles due to strong currents, but Thomas successfully completed the challenge in 54 hours and 13 minutes, fighting the severe cold and as she later revealed, a jellyfish sting.

A breast cancer survivor, Thomas, completed her treatment only a year ago after being diagnosed with the disease in 2017.

The American, who started off early Sunday, completed her last lap at 06:30 BST, on Tuesday.

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After completion, Thomas told the BBC , "I just can't believe we did it.

"I'm really just pretty numb. There was a lot of people on the beach to meet me and wish me well and it was really nice of them, but I feel just mostly stunned."

Thomas, exhausted after the task, added that she planned to sleep for the rest of the day. The 37-year-old completed her first open-water event in 2007 and first swam across the Channel in 2012, repeating the feat in 2016.