Her life at the top

1971: Swims across the Catalina Channel at age 14, in 12 hours, 36 minutes.1972: Sets record for women and men for crossing the English Channel, in 9 hours, 57 minutes.1973: At age 16, shaves 21 minutes off her record for crossing the English Channel, swimming it in 9 hours, 36 minutes.1974: Sets a record for crossing the Catalina Channel, in 8 hours, 48 minutes.1975: Becomes first woman to swim across the 50-degree waters of Cook Straits off New Zealand, in 12 hours, 2 minutes.1976: Becomes first person to swim across the Strait of Magellan, in South America.1979: Becomes first person to swim around the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.1987: Becomes first person to swim across the frigid waters of the Bering Strait, in 2 hours, 6 minutes.1992: Becomes first person to swim across Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest large navigable lake, in the Andes Mountains.1994: Becomes first person to swim the Gulf of Aqaba, from Egypt to Israel, and from Israel to Jordan.2002: Becomes first person to do a serious swim in subzero waters off Antarctica, going 1.2 miles from a boat to shore in 25 minutes.2003: Goes on her first scuba dive.