Spectrum 283 and Spectrum 284. The effort, the boredom, the triumph

Rights Information
Year
1978
Reference
24930
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1978
Reference
24930
Media type
Audio
Duration
00:55:47
Credits
RNZ Collection
McKenzie, Meda, 1963 -
LEWIS, Clive

Spectrum was a long-running weekly radio documentary series which captured the essence of New Zealand from 1972 to 2016. Alwyn Owen and Jack Perkins produced the series for many years, creating a valuable library of New Zealand oral history.

Meda McKenzie recalls her epic English Channel swim along with eye witness recording of her coach Clive Lewis.

Jack Perkins introduces marathon swimmer Meda McKenzie and tells of her recent history which reads like an entry in the who’s who of the swimming world. First New Zealand girl and youngest person to swim Cook Strait, the Bristol Channel swum both ways and her triumph over the English Channel, the Davis Cup of marathon swimming, the first New Zealand girl to achieve this feat. To top it all off, she was awarded the MBE and she has just turned 16.

This programme is an interview between Jack Perkins and Meda and is interspersed with a live commentary recorded by her coach Clive Lewis as the swim unfolded.

Meda tells of the preparation, training in the Bristol Channel giving her a stomach bug, how she felt during the swim. The cost of the pilot and feeding him. She talks of the importance of having support, not just during the swim, but from home.

Clive comments through-out the swim on Meda’s progress, her stroke rate, how she feeds after 2 hours then every hour and the fact that another New Zealander, Sandra Blewett, was also making an attempt of the crossing and was following Meda.

The second half of the swim is the toughest, fighting the tides and how Meda gets hot under the collar and she hurls verbal abuse at Clive, blaming him because she is in the water.
Clive reports that Sandra Blewett’s boat has fallen a long way back and Sandra was crying in the water. There are jelly fish and Meda swims around them.

Clive and then Meda’s brother swim with her. Meda says this helped her as the last 400 yards are the worst.

After 13 hours 9 minutes in the water, Meda had conquered the English Channel.

And as for Sandra Blewett, she unfortunately had to pull out of her swim.
Produced by Jack Perkins.