On this Day

In 1875 Captain Matthew Webb made the 1st observed and unassisted swim across the English Channel in 21 hours and 45 minutes

In 1986 A's Mark McGwire hit his 1st major league home run

In 1991 Krizstina Egerszegi swam world record 200m backstroke (2:06.62)

In 2004 Olga Kuzenkova of Russia threw an Olympic record 75.02m to edge the field and won the women's hammer throw gold medal at the Athens Games

Duleep Mendis

Louis Rohan Duleep Mendis, born on this day in 1952, known as Duleep Mendis, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of the team, who captained Sri Lanka to their first Test series victory in 1985. He was primarily a specialist batsman, whose best period as a player came from 1982 to 1985.