Local resident Amy Wamsley swam in the San Francisco Bay before heading to European shores to follow her long-held dream of swimming the English Channel. (Photo by photo by Vanessa Gueth)
Villager to swim English Channel
- Published: May 27, 2025
Last week, local resident Amy Wamsley completed an eight-hour swim in the San Francisco Bay.
This week, she and her Yellow Springs support team — Victoria Walters and Vanessa Gueth — left the Midwest. They’re headed to European shores as Wamsley begins her journey toward becoming only the second Ohio woman since the 1970s to attempt swimming the English Channel.
The last attempt was in 1975 — the year Wamsley was born. As the News reported last year, as a child, Wamsley set a personal goal to swim the English Channel the year she turned 50.
The English Channel is one of the most difficult open swim locations in the world, at a distance of about 21 miles. Wamsley is slated to undertake the swim between May 30 and June 10, depending on when she’s given the go-ahead by her escort boat crew that weather and currents are safe.
Since last year, Wamsley has been fundraising for the trip, and now seeks funds to help her support team with return travel costs after the swim is completed. An online fundraiser has been established at gofund.me/e774fe30.
The community is invited to keep track of Wamsley’s progress across the English Channel via an online tracker “watch party” at http://www.bit.ly/WamsleyWatchParty. Wamsley will be given 10–12 hours advance notice of her swim departure.
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