Marcia Cleveland began swimming before she was two years old. Having swum competitively most of her adult life, she began open water swimming in 1991 to "be one with nature." In 1994, she swam solo across the English Channel and later became one of only four American women to swim across the North Channel. Today, Cleveland is an accredited coach, certified as a Level 4 USMS Coach and a Level 3.2 Coach for both ASCA and USA Swimming, with specialization in Open Water.

She has also written extensively on a variety of swimming topics, including Dover Solo: Swimming the English Channel, which is now considered “The Bible” of Channel Swimming. In October 2019, Marcia was named an Honoree Swimmer in the 2020 Class of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

Watch Marcia Cleveland discuss her record and offer advice for swimmers:

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