Linda McGill

Linda McGill

Personal information
Nickname(s)	Linda Carol McGill
National team	Australia
Born	(1945-12-17) 17 December 1945
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke, butterfly, medley
Medal record Women's swimming Representing Australia Commonwealth Games 1962 Perth 110 yd butterfly 1962 Perth 440 yd individual medley 1962 Perth 4×110 yd medley relay

Linda Carol McGill (born 17 December 1945), also known by her married name Linda Kruk, is an Australian former competition swimmer noted both for achievements at the Commonwealth Games and in long-distance swimming.

Career

At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, McGill won the bronze medal in the women's 110-yard butterfly, the silver medal in the women's 440-yard individual medley, and the gold medal in the 4×110-yard medley relay. In 1964, she was banned by amateur swimming authorities for alleged misbehavior at the Tokyo Olympic Games. She became a long distance swimmer, becoming the first Australian to swim the English Channel in 1965, swimming topless and posing topless for press photographs after the swim. On this swim, she missed setting a then-world women's record by just 11 minutes. In an effort to beat the record, she formally petitioned for and was granted permission from the Channel Swimming Association to swim topless. In 1967, she beat the record with a time of just under 10 hours. In 1976, swimming topless, she became the first person ever to swim around Hong Kong, accomplishing this in 17 hours.