1. Overview
Greta Marie Andersen was a distinguished Danish swimmer who achieved significant success in both competitive pool swimming and challenging marathon swimming. Her career spanned decades, marked by an Olympic gold medal in the freestyle 100-meter event and a silver in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 1948 London Olympics. After immigrating to the United States in the mid-1950s, she transitioned to marathon swimming, where she set multiple world records in distances up to 50 mile and became the first person to complete a two-way crossing of the Santa Catalina Channel. Andersen's pioneering efforts in long-distance swimming and her contributions to aquatic education through her swimming school solidified her legacy, leading to her induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
2. Early Life and Background
Greta Andersen's early life in Copenhagen laid the foundation for her athletic pursuits, which initially included gymnastics before she discovered her talent for swimming at a relatively late age.
2.1. Birth and Childhood
Greta Marie Andersen was born on May 1, 1927, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her parents were Mourits Peter Andersen and Charlotte Emerentze Benedikte Nielsen.
2.2. Early Activities
Andersen began her athletic journey with gymnastics. She later started swimming at the age of 16, joining a swimming club, which marked the beginning of her professional swimming career.
3. Swimming Career
Greta Andersen's competitive swimming career was characterized by her rapid ascent to international prominence, securing medals at European championships and the Olympic Games, alongside numerous national and Scandinavian titles.
3.1. European Competition Participation
Andersen's international debut came in 1947 when she represented Denmark at the 1947 European Aquatics Championships held in Monte Carlo. At this event, she earned two medals, signaling her arrival on the international swimming scene.
3.2. Olympic Games
Andersen's most notable achievements in competitive swimming occurred at the Olympic Games.
In 1948, she competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where she achieved significant success. She won a gold medal in the 328 ft (100 m) freestyle event and a silver medal as part of the 4x328 ft (100 m) freestyle relay team. During the 1312 ft (400 m) freestyle race at the same Olympics, Andersen faced a challenging incident. She failed to complete the race due to sudden stomach cramps, causing her to faint in the water. She was rescued from potential drowning by fellow competitors Nancy Lees and Elemér Szathmáry. According to Andersen's own recollections, the incident was caused by an injection given to her by the swimming team's medical doctor to delay her menstrual period, which she stated led to her legs becoming paralyzed and her subsequent fainting.
Andersen also participated in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, competing in three events. However, she was unable to secure any medals at these Games. Her performance was hampered by a recent knee surgery, which affected the use of one of her legs. Her best result in Helsinki was a fourth-place finish in the 4x328 ft (100 m) freestyle relay.
3.3. Records and Titles
Throughout her career in Europe, Greta Andersen established herself as a dominant force in swimming. In 1949, she set a world record in the 100 yd freestyle with a time of 58.2 seconds, a record that remained unbroken for seven years. She accumulated an impressive collection of titles, including nine individual Danish national championships, several team titles, and four individual Scandinavian titles.
4. Marathon Swimming and US Activities
After her successful career in competitive pool swimming, Greta Andersen embarked on a new chapter in the United States, transitioning to the demanding discipline of marathon swimming (also known as open water swimming), where she achieved groundbreaking feats and established new world records.
4.1. US Immigration and Marathon Swimming Transition
In 1953, Greta Andersen immigrated to the United States, settling in Long Beach, California. She later obtained American citizenship in 1959. Upon moving to the United States, Andersen strategically shifted her focus from traditional pool swimming to the challenging realm of marathon swimming, a move that allowed her to extend her athletic career and achieve further global recognition.
4.2. Major Marathon Swimming Achievements
Greta Andersen became a pioneering figure in marathon swimming, setting numerous records and completing historic swims. In 1958, she made history by becoming the first person to successfully swim the Santa Catalina Channel (part of the Channel Islands of California) in both directions. She also set world records for long-distance swims at 10 mile, 25 mile, and 50 mile.
Between 1957 and 1965, Andersen completed six crossings of the English Channel, establishing a record for the most Channel swims by a woman at that time. In 1958, she also set a speed record for women crossing the English Channel, completing it in 10 hours and 59 minutes. Furthermore, in 1964, she attempted a two-way crossing of the English Channel, swimming for 23 hours in an effort to cross forth and back, setting an unofficial record for the longest Channel swim attempt.
5. Awards and Recognition
Greta Andersen's exceptional contributions to swimming, both in the pool and in open water, were widely recognized through prestigious awards and inductions into esteemed halls of fame.
5.1. International Swimming Hall of Fame
In 1969, Greta Andersen was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), an honor that acknowledged her remarkable achievements in competitive swimming. Decades later, in 2015, the ISHOF further recognized her lasting impact on the sport by presenting her with a Lifetime Achievement Award, specifically highlighting her pioneering contributions to open water swimming.
6. Personal Life
Beyond her athletic achievements, Greta Andersen led a rich personal life, marked by marriages, family, and a dedicated commitment to aquatic education through her own swimming school.
6.1. Marriage and Family
Greta Andersen was married multiple times throughout her life. Her first marriage was to Danish engineer Helge Jeppesen in Valby, Copenhagen, in 1952, which later ended in divorce. In 1957, she married John Sonnichsen in Long Beach, California. After their divorce, she married Hungarian-born doctor Andre Veress in Nevada in 1966. The couple resided in Huntington Beach, California, for many years before moving to Solvang, California, in 2017.
6.2. Swimming School and Later Life
In 1960, Greta Andersen and her second husband, John Sonnichsen, established the Greta Andersen Swim School in Los Alamitos, California. The school operated for two decades, closing its doors in 1980. Andersen was a pioneer in the field of baby swimming, developing and implementing programs for infants. Even after the closure of her school, she continued to work as a swimming instructor, demonstrating her lifelong dedication to teaching aquatic skills.
7. Death
Greta Andersen passed away at her home in Solvang, California, on February 6, 2023, at the age of 95.
8. Writings
Greta Andersen authored a book titled En svømmepiges med- og modgangA Swimmer Girl's Ups and DownsDanish. Published in 1952, the book offers her personal reflections on her career and experiences as a swimmer.