Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world.
Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year.
She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list.
Photo courtesy Hsu Wen-erh via CNA
She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim across the channel must pass, Hsu said.
“I shivered with cold and my fingers even changed color during the first week, but I got used to it and finally passed the test,” she said.
Hsu said she left the UK at 8:30am, swimming without a wetsuit, with the aim of reaching France before dark.
“The journey’s ninth and 10th hours were the most tiring and torturing, as the sunlight shone right in my eyes. Even wearing mirrored goggles is not enough. I swam with my eyes closed almost all the way through the last two hours,” Hsu said.
“Finally, I could see ... France, but the strong currents kept dragging me away. It was painful that I could see the shore, but could not swim ashore,” she said, adding that a seal raised its head above the water and looked at her as she made it to land.
Hsu said she also had to swim through lots of jellyfish that were nearly as big as basketballs.
“I had to turn my head to watch out and dodge the jellyfish. The waters have the most jellyfish that I have ever seen,” she said.
She reached France before dark, covering a total distance of 43.87km, official data showed.
Hsu said that she was “so excited and could not fall asleep” even though she was exhausted, as it was the first time in her life that she had paddled almost nonstop for 12 hours.
She said she was happy to achieve the milestone and raise “Taiwan’s visibility in the world through the sport,” Hsu said.
She said she would not be taking a break and would remain in the UK to train before heading to the US by the end of next month to swim across another strait.
“Can anyone be as crazy as I am?” she asked.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS