Actress Daisy Ridley talks to Sky Sports activities Information’ Sam Boggon about enjoying Trudy Ederle in ‘Younger Girl and the Sea’, Ederle was the primary girl to swim throughout the English Channel nearly 100 years in the past; Ridley additionally talks about equality in ladies’s sport
By Sam Boggon
Final Up to date: 17/07/24 5:05pm
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Daisy Ridley chats to Sky Sports activities about ‘Younger Girl and the Sea’, a movie that tells the unimaginable story of Trudy Ederle, the primary girl to swim the English Channel
Daisy Ridley chats to Sky Sports activities about ‘Younger Girl and the Sea’, a movie that tells the unimaginable story of Trudy Ederle, the primary girl to swim the English Channel
On August 6, 1926, American swimmer Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle took on an unthinkable problem that may change the panorama of girls’s sport eternally.
Trudy began swimming competitively as a young person changing into the youngest world report holder within the freestyle occasion earlier than rising by means of the US ranks to qualify for the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
She gained three medals on the Video games together with gold within the 4x100m freestyle relay earlier than trying to make historical past and develop into the primary girl to swim the English Channel.
Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle pictured earlier than her try at swimming the English Channel
After being pulled out of the water throughout her first try, Trudy modified her coach and educated with Englishman Invoice Burgess, certainly one of 5 males to efficiently swim the Channel on the time.
Trudy made sporting historical past a 12 months in a while her second try finishing the swim in a time of 14 hours and 31 minutes, breaking the lads’s report by nearly two hours in a groundbreaking sporting second.
New York Metropolis honoured her achievement in August 1926 with their first ticker-tape parade for a lady. It was the largest parade for an athlete in New York as over two million individuals got here out to cheer her success.
Now her story is being introduced again to life in ‘Younger Girl and the Sea’, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with actress Daisy Ridley enjoying the function of Trudy in a robust movie that showcases overcoming challenges and prejudice to realize one thing outstanding.
“A lot of women have been lost to history so being able to play one of those women is wonderful,” Ridley instructed Sky Sports activities Information, because the Star Wars actress described how a lot she loved the function of showing Trudy’s story to the world.
“There is a wonderful message in there because we are honouring someone who is real and did something that she was told she couldn’t do.”
‘Younger Girl and the Sea’ tells the extraordinary story of Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle, the primary ever girl to swim the English Channel accessible now on Disney+
Ridley herself solely grew to become conscious of the story behind the movie when the script was launched to her based mostly on Glenn Stout’s ebook and with the movie now accessible to observe on Disney+, she instructed Sky Sports activities Information of her disbelief that she and her colleagues had not heard of her earlier than.
“People don’t know about her now and it was only 100 years ago which seems just bonkers.
“What she did was so monumental and on the time that she did it in, she most likely modified ladies’s sport in a means that she might by no means have imagined.”
Daisy Ridley stars as Trudy Ederle in Disney’s ‘Young Woman and the Sea’
Ridley hopes that Trudy’s inspirational sporting story can positively impact society again and be a force of good for young people from any background to overcome adversity and follow their dreams.
“She did one thing ladies had been basically instructed they could not do and the psychological boundaries she broke when she did it allowed different individuals to assume that it was potential,” Ridley said.
“Hopefully this movie evokes everybody. In the event you’ve been instructed you possibly can’t do it, when you’ve been instructed no, when you really feel like your dream is unattainable however you wish to strive, simply strive.”
Gertrude Ederle enters the water with body greased and wearing goggles for the start of her record-breaking swim across the English Channel
With the Paris Olympics later this month, we will see a 50-50 split in male and female athletes for the first time in Olympic history which Ridley believes is a sign that we are moving in the right direction with gender equality in sport.
“We nonetheless have a protracted solution to go when it comes to fairness in sport however we’re getting there and with the Lionesses’ success previously couple of years that is began such a giant dialog,” she said.
“The Olympics having 50-50 break up is superb and the actual fact is individuals love sport full cease so there must be room for everyone in that.”
Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle during her attempt to become the first woman to swim the Channel
When Trudy faced struggles during her swimming career, she relied on the support of her sister Margaret [Meg] who initially got her into the sport and encouraged her to try longer distances before the Channel swim.
Ridley draws on this family bond as one of the most important themes in the story, allowing her to believe that she could achieve her dreams when women were seen as not physically capable of competing in male-dominated sports.
“When Tilda – who performs Meg – decides to get within the sea and race Trudy to maintain up her spirits, there are such lovely particular person moments that individuals reply to,” she said.
“There was simply such a help system round her and you will need to honour the individuals who helped her do it.”
Trudy showed perseverance and broke barriers after being told she was not strong enough to swim the Channel as she faced obstacles ahead of her second attempt, with the public perception that no woman could succeed where many men had failed.
Ridley believes this is a testament to Trudy’s resilience and spirit as she would not be discouraged despite everyone saying she couldn’t do it.
“When she makes an attempt the swim for the second time she knew she was in a position to do it and that was what she needed to do,” Ridley said.
“There have been nonetheless going to be hurdles to beat however that was her aim and he or she was going to succeed in it or die attempting.”
Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle became known by the press as ‘Queen of the Waves’ following her successful English Channel swim
After her historic swim, Trudy went on to star in movies and perform in vaudeville theatre shows before seriously injuring her back forcing her to retire from competitive swimming.
She suffered permanent hearing damage from her Channel swim but continued to inspire as she started teaching deaf children how to swim in New York City and shared her love of the sport with others who faced similar difficulties.
