16-year-old Vera Rivard, of Springfield, swims across English Channel in just over 14 hours

A local long-distance swimming sensation has powered her way across the English Channel.

Sixteen-year-old Vera Rivard of Springfield, New Hampshire, and Derby, Vermont, finished her swim from Dover, England to Wissant Beach in France Tuesday night just before midnight. She started at 9:38 a.m. and finished at 11:48 p.m., with over 14 hours in the water.

She encountered rough conditions, with air temperatures almost 58 degrees and the water temperature 63 degrees. She’s just the 1,676th person to make the crossing since 1875 and the second American to finish the swim in 2020.

See WCAX