Swim England

A nation swimming

Commander Gerald Forsberg

Commander Gerald Forsberg
  • Born: 18 June 1912
  • Died: 24 October 2000

Commander Gerald Forsberg

It’s fair to say that Commander Charles Gerald Forsberg was a distance swimming legend.

He set a then world record time for swimming the English Channel in 1957 when, at the age of 45, he clocked a time of 13 hours and 33 minutes to beat the previous best by 22 minutes.

Forsberg was an authoritative voice on the sport having completed more than 200 open water swims and winning countless titles.

He wrote a number of books and articles, including for the Swimming Times, about marathon swimming.

Having started off as a swimmer and water polo player, Forsberg eventually served as President of the British Long Distance Swimming Association, sat on their executive committee for more than 20 years and was President of the Channel Swimming Association for 38 years.

Forsberg continued to swim in open water until two years before his death in 2000.

He was awarded the OBE for services to the Royal Navy in 1955 and inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998.

Top