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If internet memes had been invented in 1927, #believeher might have taken on a very different meaning. For professional female swimmer, Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to successfully swim the English Channel, the viral phrase would have captured the vindication swim of her life. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Several women were competing at that time to swim the channel.\u00a0 The first one to actually do it on August 6, 1926, was American swimmer Gertrude Ederle.\u00a0 Ederle also set a new world record at 14 hours and 31 minutes by beating the previous men\u2019s record \u2026 by nearly two hours. (\u201cYass, Queen!\u201d) The second was Danish-American swimmer Amelia \u201cMille\u201d Gade Corson on August 27, that same year.\u00a0 Consequently, Britain was hungering for a native female champion to arise. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Two stepped forward. One of which was Gleitze who\u2019d attempted it seven times before, but failed each time.\u00a0 The other was Dr. Dorothy Cochrane Logan (Mona MacLellan). Logan, unlike Gleitze, was also funded by the News of the World<\/em> newspaper, who according to the film, was looking for a more visible and reputable candidate who could also add the \u201cright sort\u201d of (married and respectable) celebrity to the event.\u00a0 Logan allegedly completed her swim in 1927 just days after Gleitze.\u00a0 And, astoundingly, by a faster time.\u00a0 But she was shortly outed for faking the swim.\u00a0 And, as an unfortunate consequence, it brought Gleitze\u2019s achievement into question, thereby forcing her to prove herself with another attempt just 14 days later.<\/p>\n \n