Stella Taylor | |
---|---|
| |
Born | December 20, 1929
[1] Bristol, England
[1] |
Died | (aged 73)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
Burial place | Lauderdale Memorial Park [1] |
Occupation | Marathon swimmer |
Known for | Oldest woman to swim English Channel, age 45, 1975 (2nd crossing) |
Height | 165.5 cm (5 ft 5 in) [2] |
Sports career | |
Sport | Swimming |
Coach | Robert Duenkel |
Stella Taylor (December 20, 1929 – February 11, 2003) was an American long-distance swimmer born in Bristol, England, best known for crossing the English Channel twice and holding Guinness Book of Records recognition (1974 to 1994) as the oldest woman to swim across the Channel. [3] She made her first English channel crossing in August 1973 in 15:25, from England to France, when she was around the age of 43, repeating the swim in 1975 in 18:15 at the age of 45. [4]
Taylor was born on December 20, 1929, in Bristol, England, to Roy and Kathleen Titus Taylor. [1] According to friends, her relationship with her father provided some insight into her character. Her father Roy Taylor had been a former swimmer and high-diver. She began doing household chores at the age of five. Stella would swim laps while her father Roy practiced diving and was expected to continue until he had finished. He instructed her to swim alongside him when he was boating and would reward her with a piece of candy when she swam well. [5]
The first vocation she pursued was as a nun, and she spent four years at Sisters of Mercy Convent in Buffalo, New York, in preparation for a life in the convent, but she never took her final vows. Still, she became known by the nickname "swimming nun." She lived in Buffalo for four years and taught first grade until around 1958. [1] [3] [6]
In the early 1960s, Taylor moved to Miami and then to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she would spend the rest of her life. [1] There she met the first executive director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Buck Dawson, where she was active, who convinced her to pursue marathon swimming. Dawson served as Executive Director from 1964-87. [1] [3] Taylor took up Marathon swimming around the age of 32 around 1962. During the 1970's she trained with the Northeast High School Swim Team, as well as the Fort Lauderdale and Pinecrest Swim Teams. [1]
In 1969, she was given the Greta Andersen Trophy (awarded by the famed Danish swimmer), for being "the outstanding first-year woman swimmer on the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation circuit." Another marathon swimmer of that time, Diana Nyad, won the same award the following year. [7]
Professionally, Taylor taught at the Fort Lauderdale Oral School until around 1965, [6] when she began training as a swimmer full time, and working as a pool manager at Coral Ridge Country Club and Nova High School. A blue-eyed blonde, she often had a tan during her training. She would occasionally fill in as a swim coach or instructor, or volunteer or work part-time at Fort Lauderdale's Swimming Hall of Fame. [5]
Taylor died on February 11, 2003, aged 73 in Fort Lauderdale from complications of a brain tumor. [1] She had been hospitalized around six months and had been a resident at Palm Court Convalescent Home in Wilton Manors in Fort Lauderdale. She was buried at Lauderdale Memorial Park. [1] Bob Duenkel, a long-time friend, mentor and coach, who first met her in 1969, and crewed for her on several of her long distance swims, said "She devoted a large part of her life to Marathon Swimming." Deunkel noted that she always had an ability to continue, and would never give up. [1] Deunkel would serve as an Executive Director and Curator of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale. [8] Taylor never married, and her medical expenses and insurance near the end of her life had drained her savings to the point where her medical bills were not getting paid until a friend successfully took up a collection. [5]
Taylor made many notable marathon swims:
She was a member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame where she was inducted in 1982 as an honor swimmer. [1] [7] She was once given a key to the city of Fort Lauderdale by the Mayor, and was given a plot of land for burial. A bench in Lauderdale Memorial Park where she was buried on Monday, February 24, 2003, includes her name and swimming achievements. [9]
Stella Taylor | |
---|---|
| |
Born | December 20, 1929
[1] Bristol, England
[1] |
Died | (aged 73)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
Burial place | Lauderdale Memorial Park [1] |
Occupation | Marathon swimmer |
Known for | Oldest woman to swim English Channel, age 45, 1975 (2nd crossing) |
Height | 165.5 cm (5 ft 5 in) [2] |
Sports career | |
Sport | Swimming |
Coach | Robert Duenkel |
Stella Taylor (December 20, 1929 – February 11, 2003) was an American long-distance swimmer born in Bristol, England, best known for crossing the English Channel twice and holding Guinness Book of Records recognition (1974 to 1994) as the oldest woman to swim across the Channel. [3] She made her first English channel crossing in August 1973 in 15:25, from England to France, when she was around the age of 43, repeating the swim in 1975 in 18:15 at the age of 45. [4]
Taylor was born on December 20, 1929, in Bristol, England, to Roy and Kathleen Titus Taylor. [1] According to friends, her relationship with her father provided some insight into her character. Her father Roy Taylor had been a former swimmer and high-diver. She began doing household chores at the age of five. Stella would swim laps while her father Roy practiced diving and was expected to continue until he had finished. He instructed her to swim alongside him when he was boating and would reward her with a piece of candy when she swam well. [5]
The first vocation she pursued was as a nun, and she spent four years at Sisters of Mercy Convent in Buffalo, New York, in preparation for a life in the convent, but she never took her final vows. Still, she became known by the nickname "swimming nun." She lived in Buffalo for four years and taught first grade until around 1958. [1] [3] [6]
In the early 1960s, Taylor moved to Miami and then to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she would spend the rest of her life. [1] There she met the first executive director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Buck Dawson, where she was active, who convinced her to pursue marathon swimming. Dawson served as Executive Director from 1964-87. [1] [3] Taylor took up Marathon swimming around the age of 32 around 1962. During the 1970's she trained with the Northeast High School Swim Team, as well as the Fort Lauderdale and Pinecrest Swim Teams. [1]
In 1969, she was given the Greta Andersen Trophy (awarded by the famed Danish swimmer), for being "the outstanding first-year woman swimmer on the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation circuit." Another marathon swimmer of that time, Diana Nyad, won the same award the following year. [7]
Professionally, Taylor taught at the Fort Lauderdale Oral School until around 1965, [6] when she began training as a swimmer full time, and working as a pool manager at Coral Ridge Country Club and Nova High School. A blue-eyed blonde, she often had a tan during her training. She would occasionally fill in as a swim coach or instructor, or volunteer or work part-time at Fort Lauderdale's Swimming Hall of Fame. [5]
Taylor died on February 11, 2003, aged 73 in Fort Lauderdale from complications of a brain tumor. [1] She had been hospitalized around six months and had been a resident at Palm Court Convalescent Home in Wilton Manors in Fort Lauderdale. She was buried at Lauderdale Memorial Park. [1] Bob Duenkel, a long-time friend, mentor and coach, who first met her in 1969, and crewed for her on several of her long distance swims, said "She devoted a large part of her life to Marathon Swimming." Deunkel noted that she always had an ability to continue, and would never give up. [1] Deunkel would serve as an Executive Director and Curator of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale. [8] Taylor never married, and her medical expenses and insurance near the end of her life had drained her savings to the point where her medical bills were not getting paid until a friend successfully took up a collection. [5]
Taylor made many notable marathon swims:
She was a member of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame where she was inducted in 1982 as an honor swimmer. [1] [7] She was once given a key to the city of Fort Lauderdale by the Mayor, and was given a plot of land for burial. A bench in Lauderdale Memorial Park where she was buried on Monday, February 24, 2003, includes her name and swimming achievements. [9]