NINE SWIMMERS CROSS CHANNEL

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26199, 24 August 1950, Page 7

NINE SWIMMERS CROSS CHANNEL

EGYPTIAN -SETS NEW RECORD 24 COMPETITORS IN RACE

. LONDON, Aug. 22. Hassan Abd el Rehim, 41-year-old Egyptian swimmer, swam the English Channel in record time to win the “Daily Mail’s”, £lOOO international Contest. His unofficial time was lOhr 52min against the record held by the Frenchman, George Michel, of llhr smih, established in 1926. Eighteen men and six women from

12 countries took part in the race. The “Daily Mail” offered £lOOO to the first man arid a similar sum to the first woman across, and £250 to every swimmer who finished the course.

Rehim, who is 17 stone and the father of six children, narrowly beat Roger le Morvan, of France, who led until ari hour fforri the ehd. Morvan, aged 26, arrived in second place 10 minutes after Rehim, and he also broke the old record.

Third was another Egyptian, Mareet Hassan Hamad. He arrived Ihr 24min after Rehim.

Rehim is the first man to dwlin the Channel three times. He did the crossing once from France to England in 1948, and last year crossed from England to France. Rehim said he would spend his £lOOO on a launch to take his children on the Nile.

It was Morvan’s first Channel swim, and he had only one hour’s training in the sea before the attempt. Seven men and two women staggered ashore along the coast in the vicinity of Dover. A Greek, Panagiotis Kameros. was joined in his swim half-way across by a 15ft shark. His seconds in a motorboat snatched him from the water as the shark raced into attack With three others which were also showing more than an academic interest in the Greek’s efforts.

The successful contestants were staggering ashore anywhere up and down the six miles stretch -of coastline for 6hr 26min. Reporters had a hectic time cruising the waterfront in cars looking for interviews. The first woman arrival was an English. scripture teacher, 21-year-©ld Eileen Fenton.

Those t© finish and their times were:—Hassan Abd el Rehim (Egypt), lQhr 52min; Roger le Morvan (France), llhr 2min; Mfiteet Hassan Hamad (Egypt), 12hr lOmin; Sam Rockett (Britain). 14hr 20min; William Barnie (Britain), 14hr 50min; Fileen Fenton (Britain). 15hr 31min; Jasen Zirganos (Greece). 16hr 19min; Antonio Abertondo ’Argentina), 16hr 25min; Jenny Kammersgaard (Denmark), 16hr 30min.