Amber-Rose Berry is an 18-year-old open-water swimmer from Pringle Bay, near Cape Town, who has just made history as the youngest South African woman to swim the English Channel. She completed the gruelling 33km crossing from England to France in an unofficial time of 10 hours and 27 minutes, battling cold water, strong currents, jellyfish stings and exhaustion along the way.

This isn't her first major achievement. At just 16, Amber-Rose became the youngest person to complete the 33km False Bay crossing, finishing in 9 hours and 40 minutes. Her journey is particularly inspiring because she was actually frightened of water as a young child after a swimming accident. She is also using her English Channel swim to raise funds for the Ukukhula Institute, which provides scholarships for disadvantaged student-athletes from the Eastern Cape to study at Rhodes University.