Daisy Ridley's 'Young Woman and the Sea' to Stream on Disney+ This July

With the Paris Games fast approaching everyone's catching a little bit of Olympic fever, even Disney+. The streamer is getting in the inspirational spirit by dropping its sports drama Young Woman and the Sea mid-month, just before the kick-off of the 33rd Olympiad. The film tells the story of one of the most impressive female athletes in history and a remarkable achievement that too few likely know about. 

Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926. The daughter of German immigrants, she was a member of the U.S. team that won gold at the 1924 Olympics --- which also happened to take place in Paris --in the 4x100 relay. (And took home a pair of bronze medals in individual events herself.)  She turned professional in 1925, before deciding the following year to set herself a new challenge: to swim the Channel, a feat that had never even been attempted by a woman. 

Though Ederle's first attempt failed, her second, in which she was coached by Bill Burgess, a swimmer who had himself successfully crossed in 1911, saw her traverse the Channel's 21 miles in fourteen and half hours, beating the fastest man’s record by a hundred and twenty minutes. It was the first time in sporting history that a woman had completed an event in a faster time than a man. How's that for girl power?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker alum Daisy Ridley plays the role of Trudy, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Tilda Cobham-Hervey (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Stephen Graham (Bodies), Kim Bodnia (Killing Eve), Christopher Eccleston (True Detective: Night Country),

Here's the film's description. 

Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer Trudy Ederle who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement – a 21-mile trek from France to England.

Though the film was originally slated as a Disney+ original, it was granted a brief theatrical run earlier this spring after it performed surprisingly well with test audiences. (This probably shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone given the story's underdog vibes and feminist feel.)

"The most surprising thing about this story is how few people know what Trudy did," Ridley previously said in a statement. "What she accomplished was not only a personal achievement, but groundbreaking for women in sport. I’m excited for people to see this film in all its beauty and experience this journey, with all its difficulty and hope and ultimately joy,"

Based on the book Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World by Glenn Stout, the film is written by Jeff Nathanson and directed by Joachim Rønning. The producers are Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, and Jeff Nathanson, with Ridley, Rønning, and John G. Scotti serving as executive producers

Young Woman and the Sea will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, July 19.