Iowa woman conquers English Channel

CEDAR RAPIDS - Tipton native Cheyanne Boddicker accomplished her goal this weekend of swimming the English Channel from Dover, England to Sangatte, France.

The official swim time was 15 hours and 39 minutes.

Boddicker, a 2008 graduate of the University of Iowa, launched the Crossing for a Cure campaign to raise $25,000 to provide seed money needed for junior faculty researchers at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. Boddicker hopes her contribution helps the center gain the preliminary data necessary to qualify them for larger grants. The larger grants are crucial in their research to find cures to various forms of cancer.

Boddicker, who has written for Eastern Iowa Health, posted this on her blog:

“On Saturday morning, August 6th, at around 6am London Time, my hand slid through the sandy shore of Sangatte, France. It was a moment I have dreamt of for a very long time, and when it actually happened, I could not believe it! It was like a dream. Before I dive into the details of the final moments of the swim, I am sure you would like to read a recap of the swim in it's entirety, so let's go back to the start!”

To read more, visit

Cheyanne's Blog and her website:

http://crossingforacure.com/