Getting into swimming from the age of four, Richardson could swim a kilometre at seven before Steele took the then-teenager under her wing years later, inspiring the journey the 27-year-old completed on September 19.

Taking to the Channel 12 years after Steele's journey, Richardson was offered some sage words of advice from her training partner.

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"[Her advice was] just keep going, stroke after stroke," she said.

"You know you will have, during the swim, some low points where you want to give up but just keep thinking about the training you've done and all the preparation to led you to that moment."

And the low points certainly came.

Just two nautical miles from the finish of the approximately 21-mile journey, which changes depending on the current, the tide did just that and the former Ogilvie High School student found herself effectively swimming on the spot - something she actually expected.

"I think the temperature was what I expected, I was well prepared for that. What happened at the end, I knew that could happen, other people have told me about that.

"In a lot of ways, I think I expected it to be that sort of tough but it didn't feel real the entire time I was doing it.

"The English Channel was similar to our temperatures, obviously opposite seasons as it was autumn over there but it's similar to the temperatures we get in say March, which is quite nice and bearable when you're from Tassie."

Not just anyone can swim the English Channel, Richardson had to qualify for the right to battle the famous waters with a 15-degree, six-hour swim observed by officials in Tasmanian waters to pass the test, not to mention her years worth of training.

She would train for up to three hours on her days off from working as a registered nurse at St John's Hospital in Hobart, either in the pool, ocean or running up Mount Wellington or along beaches.

Juggling work throughout the week, her smallest training days went for an hour with a minimum of six days a week for what she described as "weeks, months and years" before finishing the major swim in 12 hours and 29 minutes.

"I had a goal time of 10 or 11 hours but that was if everything lined up perfectly.

"I didn't get the perfect day condition-wise I was looking for, so at first I was disappointed with that time but then I had a look at all the other people that attempted that day and they were in the vicinity of 15-16 hours so considering the conditions, it was a reasonably ok time."

Making the journey even more meaningful along the way, Richardson was able to raise $15,000 for Speak Up, Stay Chatty, a charity close to her heart after losing her cousin to suicide in 2016.

Enjoying local competition and surf lifesaving due to its shorter length since returning to Tasmania, the 27-year-old is unsure if she will give another distanced swim a go but has identified the Cook Strait as a potential suitor.

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