She set off from Dover in the early hours of Saturday morning, local time, and reached France around 10 hours later, on a fairly choppy day on the Channel.

Her support crew said it was "a little like a washing machine" out in the open water, and the air temperature was "very chilly".

Her 20 Channel crossings beat the Australian record of 19 set by Des Renford in 1980. They include one triple-crossing, last year – the first time this has been done in 25 years.

She dedicated the swim to her husband Paul.

Earlier this month McCardel said she had not visualised the moment she would break the record, though she had imagined the party afterwards.

But the 31-year-old does not intend to rest on her laurels. Her next stop is San Francisco, where she will swim to Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Fairfax Media