Each week Christine and Salt interview the Badass Woman of the Week, a feature that aims to reward women who have overcome a challenge and emerged stronger as a result. Each Badass Woman wins an empowering B Badass bracelet from The Power to B and is featured on-air Fridays at 7:15 A.M. with Christine and Salt in the morning.
This week's honoree is Marcy MacDonald of Andover — nominated by Marybeth Robertson — who writes, "Marcy is truly one of the most amazing and inspiring people I have had the honor of meeting, and I am lucky to call her my friend." A Manchester native and current Andover resident, Marcy has her own podiatry practice. When she's not running her business, she spends her time swimming. On August 25th of 2022 — after over 38 hours of swimming — Marcy became the first person in history to successfully swim from England to Belgium. Marybeth continues, "This swim is just one in the long list of impressive open water swims Marcy has completed. She has the American record for most English Channel crossings (18), she was the first American woman to swim a double of the Channel, she's a Triple Crown Swimmer — which means she has successfully swum the Channel, Catalina Island, and Manhattan Island — and she was the first American to conquer Loch Ness." Marcy tells Christine and Salt, "it's one of the most romantic swims around...you can say I swam Catalina, you can say I swam around Manhattan...but you say I swam the English Channel — people start listening to you!"
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Marcy coached many years for the LEHY swim team in East Hartford and inspired countless kids to develop a love of the open water. Though she has retired from coaching, you can still find her attending meets to cheer on her former swimmers. She also mentors many aspiring open water swimmers in the State of Connecticut and beyond, offering her guidance on how to train or giving tips on technique. She even has a pool named after her in Manchester!
Clearly Marcy is a true badass, and we salute her with all our hearts. Marybeth says it best however when she describes the incredible swimmer this way, "Marcy always swims for a reason. Last year, she swam for hope. Hope that things will improve in this world. Hope that we can be kinder and more humane to each other. Marcy gives all of us hope by her swimming." Check out her interview with Christine and Salt below and scroll down to watch Marcy's record breaking Channel swim.