Marilyn Bell

Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio OOnt (born October 19, 1937) is a Canadian retired long distance swimmer.

[6] In 1947, Bell entered her first long-distance race: a one-mile swim at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Lake Ontario.

[10] On September 8, 1954, at 11:07 pm, Bell started her swim across Lake Ontario from Youngstown, New York,[11] at virtually the same time as world-famous United States long-distance swimmer Florence Chadwick.

[12] The offer to Chadwick had disappointed Canadian swimmers, Bell included, who had expected the CNE to hold a marathon race.

The planned route straight across the lake was 51.5 kilometres (32.0 mi), but she actually had to swim much further because of strong winds and the lack of modern navigation equipment.

Waves that day were almost 5 metres (16 ft) high, water temperature was 21 °C (70 °F) and lamprey eels were attacking her legs and arms.

Bell kept up her strength with Pablum, corn syrup, and lemon juice with water, along with heroic encouragement from her boat crew, including fellow swimmer Joan Cooke and her coach, Gus Ryder.

[17] Radio stations broadcast hourly reports of her progress and rival newspapers published "extra" editions throughout the day.

The CNE decided to give Bell the $10,000 prize, and she was later given numerous gifts, including a car, television, clothing, and furniture.

[22] Offered $15,000 by the Toronto Telegram newspaper to swim the English Channel, Bell made the crossing in 14 hours, 36 minutes on July 31, 1955.

[23] Bell returned to Toronto for a ticker tape parade along Bay Street to City Hall, attended by a crowd of 100,000 on August 19.

[25] On August 23, 1956, she swam the Strait of Juan de Fuca off the Pacific coast, swimming from Port Angeles, Washington, to Victoria, British Columbia.

[26] A cairn by Dallas Road Waterfront Trail, below Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, overlooks the bay where she completed her swim.