Olympic swimmer trained Hollywood star Daisy Ridley for new film

An Olympic silver medal-winning swimmer said it was “surreal” to be involved in a new biopic based on the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, from Bath, spent six months training actress Daisy Ridley for her role as Trudy Ederle in the film Young Woman and the Sea.

A silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Commonwealth Games champion, Ms O’Connor retired in 2021 after struggles with ulcerative colitis.

Speaking of the work she did with Ms Ridley, she told BBC Radio Bristol: “If that was something I could continue doing and make a career out of it I would love that.”

The 28-year-old said she had been “trying to find my feet” away from competitive swimming through private coaching and training, when she was asked if she could work with Ms Ridley, who is best known for her role in Star Wars.

Ms O’Connor assumed it would be a one-off assessment of the star’s swimming abilities but her involvement with the film “grew and grew”, she said.

“It was an amazing experience.”

Young Woman and the Sea follows Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle’s journey from surviving measles to breaking gender conventions of the time by getting in a pool.

She went on to set world swimming records and win Olympic medals, before swimming the channel in 1926 to become known as Queen of the Waves.

Ms O’Connor said: “It’s crazy how many people I’ve come across who haven’t heard about Trudy’s story.

“I was ashamed as a female athlete, as a female swimmer, that I didn’t know about what Trudy achieved,” she said.

“Her story was kind of lost to history but she’s a trailblazer for women athletes all around the world.

“Her story is amazing and I’m so proud to be part of it.”

Ms O’Connor said Ms Ridley’s commitment to training was “incredible”.

“In the first session she wasn’t comfortable swimming front crawl at all really – and when you look at the film and see her swim you think, that’s incredible.”

After training in London, the pair travelled to Bulgaria to film in the Black Sea.

She said: “We would be training every two days – long sessions trying to build Daisy’s endurance and work on her technique.”

Ms O’Connor’s work also led her to land a cameo in the film.

“It was very surreal,” she said. “I’m one of the USA swimmers that swims with Trudy when she’s in New York and at the Paris Olympics.

“It was very cool to experience a film in that way. I still pinch myself to have been involved.”