Swimmer becomes first woman to swim from Farallon Islands to San Francisco

She started swimming at 11:16 p.m. Friday and completed the 30-mile swim in a just over 17 hours, arriving to a group of friends and supporters. And Saturday morning she was past the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary.

Four others-all men-have successfully completed the swim between the Farallon Islands and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

The journey is considered safe, as Chambers is being followed by a boat carrying her mother along with about 16 crew members.

In this October. 1, 2014, photo, Kim Chambers swims at the wharf in San…

“I think this is the toughest swim, bar none”, Chambers told the SF Chronicle. “The weather is less predictable, and there are great white sharks”, she told SFGate.

Chambers took up swimming as a form of rehabilitation after suffering severe leg injuries when she fell down the stairs eight years ago, which almost resulted in amputation. “I can see the bridge and when you can see that you know you have to finish it. I definitely had to dig really, really deep”.

Kiwi swimmer Kim Chambers. The islands off are notorious for their great white shark population.

Chambers, 38-years-old, swam a total of 30 miles and dominated it the whole time.