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Thomas Gregory (born 9th October 1976) swam the English Channel in 1988 at the age of 11 years and 333 days. As of 2025 he still holds the record as the youngest person to have done so.

No one will take the record from him because in November 2000, the Channel Swimming Association banned under-16s from attempting the crossing.

Gregory's coming-of-age story about being the youngest person to swim the Channel, A Boy in the Water (2018, Penguin: ISBN 9780241354124) was joint winner of the 2018 William Hill Sports Book of the Year. It was BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in August 2018. He served in the Royal Anglian Regiment of the British Army.

References

1. "Thomas Gregory 1988". Channel Swimming Association. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
2. Ingle, Sean (27 November 2018). "William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize shared for first time in 30 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
3. "Book of the Week: A Boy in the Water". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
4. Geere, Verity (28 August 2018). "How I Swam The Channel Aged 11; And How It Shaped My Military Life". Story (Interview). No. 1. BFBS. Forces Network. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
5. Russell, Steve (3 September 2018). "When an 11-year-old could try to swim the English Channel; and triumph". Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.

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