PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) – A Morton native pushed her body to the very limits while battling cancer this summer, joining a highly exclusive club by completing the Irish Triple Crown of open water swimming.
Morton native becomes one of just 115 people who swam Irish Channel since 1947
Bethany Mitchell swam the North Channel (21.75 miles) , Galway Bay (12.73 miles), and the Fastnet Swim (6.5 miles). She became the 23rd person to complete the treacherous task, and the first woman from the United States.
For more info on each leg of the journey, click here.
Mitchell laughed and said the three swims all had their own unique “flavors and challenges.”
The first leg in the North Irish Channel was completed two years ago in 2023 while the Galway and Fastnet were finished this July. She also made herself right at home while waiting for perfect conditions.
“I was sleeping in a tent the whole time and biking. I didn’t know when exactly my swims would start,” she said.”
All told, she swam roughly 45 miles battling different open ocean conditions.
“I think ignorance was bliss here because I didn’t quite understand ocean swells. How severe they could be. The first 2 hours, my world was completely spinning. If I’ve got to do this the whole way, I mean, will I make it? Never say never. But I said I’m never doing that again.“
Bethany Mitchell
The incredible scenery hooked Bethany, but so did learning the history of her Irish ancestors.
“Dolphins, swimming right next to me. Then went right in front of me and then right underneath me. I mean, it was amazing,” Mitchell exclaimed. She then elaborated on her love of the stories and landmarks during her swims.
“What has gone down in those certain seas? The Fastnet lighthouse is out in the middle of the Atlantic. It’s actually 13 miles off the shore of Southern Ireland. And that was the last point of reference that Irish immigrants saw of Ireland before they came to America,” she said.
Bethany accomplished all this while going through cancer treatments, because she says tomorrow is never promised.
“I made my mother proud. I did something that I’d been working towards and kind of manifesting in my mind for the last couple of years.”
Bethany Mitchell
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