A Brighton actor is to restore the reputation of one of the city’s forgotten international stars this week with the release of the film Vindication Swim, about an extraordinary feat of endurance. Almost a century ago, Mercedes Gleitze was the first British woman to swim the Channel, although her reputation was briefly tarnished when her record was challenged in a notorious feud with another swimmer.
Now Kirsten Callaghan, who looks uncannily like Gleitze, is bringing her story back from the swimming archives with her lead performance in the new biopic, released on Friday, International Women’s Day.
