As the Midmar Mile heads for its 50th anniversary next month, there’s one swimmer who still holds a unique distinction.Patricia Butcher remains the only female swimmer to have beaten the entire men’s field in the race - a feat achieved when she was just 15 years old.Butcher stormed to victory in the 1980 race in a time of 18 minutes 13 to claim her first Midmar Mile title.
Not only had she taken 1 minute 15 seconds off the previous women’s record, but she was also 7.6 seconds under the men’s record at the time.Butcher, who went on to become the first woman to claim three straight Midmar Mile victories, was no stranger to securing swimming titles.
She was at one stage the South African record holder in the 200, 400 and 800m freestyle and won numerous national titles between 1980 and 1982, also winning the Best Women’s Performance award at the South African National Championships for three years in a row.After claiming her third Midmar Mile title in 1982, Butcher never returned to the race, heading to the USA in 1983 on a full scholarship to North Carolina State University.Now 58, she is still based in the USA - living in Boulder, Colorado and running an age group swim team, Flatiron Swimming, with her partner - former international swimmer and triathlete, Wolfgang Dittrich.
Looking back on her remarkable achievement in 1980, Butcher said: “I am very proud of that swim. I remember racing really hard that year.