Lady of the Lake

The water was cold and dark, slicked with oil and brimming with bloodthirsty sea lampreys. The publicity spotlight shone somewhere else, on an American swimmer who had crossed the English Channel. But when 16-year-old Marilyn Bell stepped into the water at Youngstown, New York on September 8, 1954, she was determined to become the first person in history to swim across Lake Ontario.

Under the direction of her coach, Gus Ryder, of the Lakeshore Swimming Club in Port Credit, Ontario, the Toronto school girl had already won the ladies' event in the 1954 Atlantic City swimming marathon. Nevertheless, organizers of the Canadian National Exhibition had offered 34-year-old American marathoner Florence Chadwick - fresh from her 14:42 record crossing of the English Channel - a prize of $10,000 for successfully crossing Lake Ontario.

With no promise of reward, apart from personal and patriotic glory, Marilyn Bell followed Florence Chadwick into the Lake. She was joined by another Canadian woman, Winnie Roach, who had been the first Canadian woman to cross the English Channel in 1951. In the early morning of September 9, first Chadwick and then Roach left the water, overcome by the difficult conditions. But Marilyn kept going, gamely fighting the cold, 4.5 metre waves, and the lampreys that were attacking her legs. As word of her perseverance began to reach Toronto, radio stations broadcast hourly updates on her progress, and excitement began to build. At 8 p.m. in the evening, 20 hours and 57 minutes after entering the water, Marilyn triumphantly reached the Toronto shore. Strong winds had forced the exhausted young woman to swim 51.5 kilometres, twice the actual width of the Lake!

Marilyn's remarkable feat brought her not only the C.N.E. prize money, but also lasting fame. She went on to successfully cross the English Channel and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, before retiring from long-distance swimming in 1956. Visitors to Marilyn Bell Park, on the lakeshore of downtown Toronto, can view the plaque which commemorates the young swimmer's spectacular achievement.