Vera Neave
Vera Neave (born 1893) was a British swimmer in the early 1900s. She swam for the Jersey Swimming Club and later for the Enfield Ladies Club in London, where her father coached her.
On August 5, 1911, she became the first woman to win an open-water swimming race in London. The 15-mile race had 18 starters and 12 finishers; Vera finished in 4 hours, 9 minutes, and 39.6 seconds.
She set several world records:
- 1 mile in 31 minutes 41.8 seconds (August 18, 1912)
- 2 miles in 1 hour 1 minute 15.4 seconds (in a Liverpool pool, 1913)
- 440 yards in 6 minutes 57.8 seconds (1918)
- 550 yards in 7 minutes 52 seconds (1918)
- 1 mile again in 21 minutes 41.8 seconds (August 1921)
In 1915 she finished fifth in the Traversée de Paris à la nage, a 20-person event.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:55 (CET).