A 54-year-old mother-of-three from Bangor has completed swimming’s Irish triple crown after crossing the North Channel.
Grace McLaughlin swam the North Channel in 12 hours, 43 minutes and 57 seconds.
Her journey began shortly after 2am on Thursday when she left The Gobbins, Islandmagee, and swam to Portpatrick in Scotland.
A boat crewed by Newry-based Infinity Channel Swimming accompanied her and provided food and water along the way as she swam, progressing at 57-60 strokes a minute.
Ms McLaughlin is the 199th swimmer and 84th female swimmer to complete the challenge.
Known to her friends and family as “Amazing Grace”, Ms McLaughlin said afterwards she was “thrilled” to have completed the swim.
“It took a lot of hard work and preparation but the feeling of finishing is fantastic – and difficult to put into words,” she said.
“I was exhausted afterwards but the buzz of completing the swim is carrying me through.”
Ms McLaughlin also has two World Ice Swimming gold medals – one a world record in the 500m in her age group – The Galway Bay Swim and the Fastnet Swim.
The triple crown is an elite challenge established by the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association requiring the completion of three marathon swims.
She celebrated her most recent achievement by following tradition and signing “The Wall of Champions” at Donaghadee’s Pier 36 pub.
