Chloe McCardel finishes what could be record marathon swim

Chloe McCardel successfully completed a 42½-hour, 78-mile swim between two Bahamas islands on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Australian swimmer’s support team says it’s the longest open-water solo, continuous marathon swim in history, although the Marathon Swimmers Federation says it is difficult to compare those kinds of swims because of such factors as varying currents and poor documentation.

McCardel is said to have suffered jellyfish stings as early as 13 hours into the endeavor and had to overcome such other hardships as exhaustion, hypothermia and dehydration along the way.

She set out from the southern tip of Eleuthera and finished in Nassau without having intentionally touched the support boat or holding on to anything else, as per the rules of the marathon swim.

Past accomplishments by McCardel include two double crossings of the English Channel, 60 laps across Australia’s Bondi Beach and a 16-hour continual swim in a Swim Spa.

The Melbourne resident will rest in the Bahamas until she is deemed fit to travel home -- presumably by plane.

Twitter: @chewkiii