THE DANISH MERMAID
Greta was born in Copenhagen. Her parents were Charlotte Nielsen and Mourits Peter Andersen. He was a machinist but had previously been a gymnast, who had won a silver medal at the 1906 Intercalated Games (a rival to the early Olympics), in Athens.
When Greta was just twelve, the Nazis invaded Denmark. Fearing her capture and possible rape, her parents cut her hair very short, put her in male clothes and she pretended she was a boy for the next four years – until the occupation was over.
Initially, Greta was a gymnast, but was persuaded to go swimming at a local community baths when she was sixteen. She did so well that she was invited to join the Triton swimming club.
There, she proved to have a remarkable talent, being able to swim fifty metres without needing to take a breath.
Greta was spotted by former Olympian, Else Jacobson, who immediately became her coach.
Greta took a degree in Physical Education. She became both a qualified gymnastics coach and swimming instructor – although she wasn’t allowed to teach, as this would compromise her amateur status.
Greta won local and national competitions and then competed in the European Championships when she was just twenty. She won two medals – a bronze in an individual sprint and a gold in the team relay.
This contributed to Denmark being named the ‘Swimming Nation of the Year 1947’.
The next major competition Greta took part in was the 1948 Olympic Games, held in London – the first post-war Olympics.
There, she won gold in the 100 metres freestyle event and a silver in the 4×100 relay.
However, disaster nearly occurred in the 400 metres freestyle event. Complaining of stomach cramps prior to the race, the team doctor gave Greta an injection.
Instead of getting rid of the pain, it caused one of her legs to become paralysed during the race. Greta fainted – and sank to the bottom of the pool. She could have drowned but was rescued by two other swimmers, Nancy Lees and male competitor, Elemer Szathmary.
Years later, Greta called this, “The most talked about menstruation in Danish history”.
Also in 1948, Greta broke the world 100-yard freestyle record. This was not beaten until 1955.
In 1950, Greta undertook a short study period in San Francisco – and fell in love with California.
She competed in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki but did not perform well. Prior to the games, she had surgery on her knee so was unable to swim at her best (she came fourth in the 4×100 metres relay).
That same year, Greta married Danish engineer, Helge Jeppeson, at Valby in Copenhagen.
It was a very short-lived marriage. After just a year, Greta and Helge were divorced.
At this point, Greta decided to change the direction of her career. She had been Danish champion nine times and Scandinavian champion on four occasions.
Competitors in the Olympics and other events were expected to be amateurs. Greta said, “I had won glory, flowers and once a bicycle – but no money.” She realised she needed to earn a living.
Greta decided to take up endurance swimming and consequently emigrated to the USA, living in Long Beach, California.
In training, Greta would swim ten miles each day in the ocean without goggles. She did admit, “It sure helped when they made goggles.”
She competed in open swimming competitions as they often had prizes of around $3,000 (worth around $37,000 in modern money).
Whilst living in California, Greta met and married a high school football coach called John Sonnichen.
In 1957, Greta entered the annual race to swim the English Channel, sponsored by Butlin’s holiday camps. She won the competition.
Greta also beat the women’s record set in 1926, by the famous German swimmer, Gertrude Ederle.
When Ederle had broken the record, she had beaten the best time ever swam by any man.
Greta was disappointed not to beat the overall channel record, set by Egyptian male swimmer, Hassan Abdel Rahim, in 1950. She missed his time by just ten minutes.
Billy Butlin presented Greta with the trophy.
Greta entered the channel race again the following year. This time, weather conditions were appalling. She was swept away by a powerful current just short of Dover.
It took her one and a half hours to swim the last three hundred yards.
“I felt like giving up, but my hubby chalked up on a blackboard ‘Hi Greta – you can’t give up. All the other girls are still in there swimming.”
They weren’t. They had all abandoned the race. Greta won it – but only five of the 29 entrants managed to finish. She was four hours ahead of the first man.
Later that same year, Greta swam the Santa Catalina Channel in California, becoming the first person ever to swim a major channel in both directions.
It took her 27 hours to swim 46 miles. John rowed behind her as support. The water was icy, and Greta finished bruised, battered and bleeding.
As she boarded a cabin cruiser having completed her marathon, she noticed her husband John had fallen fast asleep – exhausted.
The media loved Greta and gave her a host of nicknames. She was called the ‘Danish Mermaid’, the ‘Housewife from Long Beach’, the ‘Great Dane’ and even once, the ‘Danish Pastry’.
Big crowds gathered at all her events. In the 1950s, marathon swimming was a massive spectator sport.
Greta was given American citizenship in 1959.
That same year, the Los Angeles Times named her ‘Sportswoman of the Year’.
In 1960, Greta and John opened a swimming school and health spa at Los Almitos in California, just south of Los Angeles. When Greta was not entering races, she taught swimming to those of all ages. She was a pioneer in teaching baby swimming.
Greta remained largely undefeated at marathon swimming, often beating men. At one time she held eighteen world records.
However, she had one notable failure. In 1961, Greta tried to swim the Molokai Channel (the ‘Bone Channel’) – a 27-mile stretch of water between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in Hawaii. It was a punishing task – and she failed to complete it.
Later that year, Greta had a second attempt. She swam in a cage that gave her protection from the sharks that circled her. She was bumped by porpoises, suffered seasickness, 20-foot waves, jellyfish, swift tides, continual rain and swam a lot of it in the dark. “It is soul crushing when the sun sets.”
After nine hours, the crew of the support vessel decided to pull Greta out of the water. Rip Yeager, the captain of the ship said, “I take my hat off to her. That woman has more courage than most men I’ve seen. She’s got just plain guts. She’s a real woman in every sense.”
In 1964, Greta tried swimming the English channel both ways, leaving from Dover and going to France – and back. It took her 23 hours and was an unofficial record.
By 1965, Greta had swum the English Channel six times – the most ever successful attempts achieved by any woman. Her record time still stands as well.
Greta also swam Lake Michigan – over fifty miles. She was the first recorded person to do so.
She had a strong but strange swimming stroke. It was once described as, “Like watching a gaudy dancer drive railroad spikes.”
In 1969, Greta was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), based at Fort Lauderdale. They called her the greatest female swimmer of all time.
The following year, Greta and John divorced, although the swimming school stayed open until 1980.
Greta remarried, to a Hungarian doctor, Andre Veress. They lived at Huntingdon Beach until 2017, when they moved to Solvang in California.
ISHOF gave Greta a lifetime achievement award. In her career, she won over forty trophies – and was never beaten by another woman.
The World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation inaugurated the Greta Andersen Trophy, awarded to the best new female endurance swimmer of each year.
Even in old age, Greta continued to coach swimming, taking the most pleasure from teaching very small children. “Teaching toddlers to be unafraid of water and introducing them to the fun of swimming is my main ambition.”
To this day, Greta has won the largest total prize money of any woman in professional swimming history.
In one of her last interviews, Greta called it ironic that someone who started out as a sprinter, should be remembered for her endurance achievements.
Greta died aged 95.
RIP – Rescued In Pool
