What For?

All above chaos was breaking out. The waves were rising, rain was falling. Sands were approaching, the kind that could moor a boat trying desperately to stay on its course. The manager scampered about the deck in a growing panic, urging the girl's father to sign a paper that would end the madness of the excursion, relieving him of the pressure of responsibility. One of the deckhands even rushed to the side of the boat and yelled down.

Down below, Trudy Ederle was 12 hours into a 14 hour journey that, if succeeded, would make her not only the first woman to swim the English Channel, but the fastest human ever to accomplish the feat. And while the adults above board were fretting and visualizing failure, 19-year old Trudy was absolutely fine, singing songs in her head and enjoying the watery tumult around her.

"Come out, girl, come out of the water!" came the cry.

Where most of us would be bordering on exhaustion or delirium after so many hours of constant exertion in 60 degree waters and little food, Trudy couldn't help but smile.

"What for?" she called out, her voice clear and strong and pure, a bell cutting through the fog. "What for?"

Everyone stopped. They saw her smile and heard her voice and no one had an answer to her question. In the midst of such confusion, Trudy was all calm. The figures on deck looked at one another. The manager looked incredulous, his face flushed. The girl in the water was in better condition than anyone on the boat. Trudy turned back on her belly, laughed, took a deep breath, and looked ahead toward England. Soon, she was singing to herself again.

How are we doing against the swells of the day? Complaining and seeking the first opportunity to turn back, or turning ahead to continue the swim?

Best Stroke

"I just did the best I could, and I never thought of winning. I guess I swim as easily as I breathe or walk. And I truly think it ought to be just as natural for everybody. The scientists say we were all water animals to begin with, then why shouldn't we go back, now and then, to our first home - the ocean?" - Trudy Ederle, 1926 swimming champion and first woman to swim the English Channel

It speaks to the power of passion and self-control that this mostly-deaf woman could develop into one of America's first female sports celebrities. Not through ego, or the will to be the best, but to do her best. And to do what she loved, with the enthusiasm that burned easily for hour upon hour of practice, until fate led her to inspire the nation.