Enriqueta Duarte

Enriqueta Duarte took up swimming in her youth and was winning tournaments by the age of 12. By the end of World War II, she began winning national titles over distances from 100 through 800 metres, as well as in relays. She made her international début for Argentina at the 1946 South American Championships and two years later competed in three events at the 1948 London Olympics, the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4x100 metres relay, but was eliminated in the first round of all of them. She also competed at the 1950 South American Championships.

Duarte’s greatest achievement, however, came in open water swimming, when she successfully swam the English Channel on August 16, 1951. In finishing the crossing in 13 hours and 26 minutes, she became the first Latin American woman to accomplish the feat and set a South American record for both sexes. She finished third overall in the competition. Later in life she competed in master’s-level competitions into her 70s. She studied law at the University of Buenos Aires and worked in several fields during her life.