CANCanada

Cindy Nicholas

First woman to complete a continuous Channel double · five career doubles

Also recorded as Cynthia Nicholas, Cynthia Maria Theresa Nicholas.

Born: 20 August 1957, Toronto
Died: 19 May 2016
Nationality: Canada — explicitly recorded by the CSA
Channel career total: 19 crossings, including five doubles; selected swims documented here
1977 first: First woman to complete an English Channel double crossing
1982 double: 18 hours 55 minutes
Beyond swimming: Lawyer; Ontario provincial parliament, 1987–1990
Honour: Order of Canada, 1979

Biography

Cindy Nicholas, recorded in the Channel register as Cynthia Nicholas, was born in Toronto on 20 August 1957. She progressed from childhood competition into marathon swimming as a teenager. On 16 August 1974 she crossed Lake Ontario in 15 hours and 10 minutes, a performance that brought her to national attention and preceded her first English Channel crossing the following year.

Her career combined solo crossings with professional races. In August 1976 she won the women’s division at Lac St Jean. She also raced and set crossing marks in other Canadian waters, including Chaleur Bay. Those performances provide a wider view of an athlete often remembered primarily for the Channel.

On 7–8 September 1977, Nicholas became the first woman to swim from England to France and back without stopping. Her 19-hour-55-minute double was an overall record. She eventually accumulated 19 Channel crossings, including five doubles, and improved her double-crossing mark to 18 hours and 55 minutes in 1982. This profile presents selected individually checked swims rather than treating that career total as a complete event list.

Nicholas was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1979. She later practised law and represented Scarborough Centre in Ontario’s provincial parliament from 1987 to 1990. She died on 19 May 2016.

Selected Channel swim records

First female English Channel double crossing

Ratifying body's record checked

Elapsed swim time · 19h 55m

Duration of the complete swim

Started · Wednesday, 7 September 1977 · 07:50 · Departure clock reported by Guinness; clock standard unstated

Finished · Thursday, 8 September 1977 · 03:45 · Return clock reported by Guinness; clock standard unstated

Format · Solo · 2-way

Direction · England → France → England

Departure · Shakespeare Beach, Dover

Arrival · Shakespeare Beach, Dover

Individual crossing times

These legs form one continuous 2-way swim.

Leg 1 · England → France · 8h 58m

Leg 2 · France → England · 10h 57m

How this record was checked

CSA individual entry 2438 confirms the completed two-way swim and 19:55. Guinness supplies the two calendar dates and endpoint clocks; ISHOF prints both leg splits. No time zone has been guessed and no original observer log has been inspected.

CSA: Cynthia Nicholas, 1977 double crossing

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Canada; 1977 two-way swim beginning England to France; 19:55 and first lady two-way award.

Guinness World Records: first female double Channel crossing

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 7–8 September 1977; 07:50 Shakespeare Beach departure, 03:45 return next day, 19:55 total.

Limitations · Clock standard is not stated; no UTC offset is inferred.

International Swimming Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Career biography, Lake Ontario 1974, Lac St Jean 1976, Chaleur Bay 1977, double-crossing splits and later legal/parliamentary career.

Limitations · Retrospective narrative; several historical summaries vary from other sources. The 1976 Lac St Jean distance conflicts with Canada’s Sports Hall, so distance is omitted.

1982 record double crossing

Ratifying body's record checked

Elapsed swim time · 18h 55m

Duration of the complete swim

Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed

Finished · Exact finish date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed

Format · Solo · 2-way

Direction · England → France → England

How this record was checked

CSA individual entry 2442 was inspected: 1982, solo two way beginning England to France, 18:55, with World Record 2 Way Swim award. It supplies no exact day or clocks.

CSA: Cynthia Nicholas, 1982 record double

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 1982 England–France–England double in 18:55; world-record award.

Separate 1982 double crossing

Ratifying body's record checked

Elapsed swim time · 20h 9m

Duration of the complete swim

Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed

Finished · Exact finish date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed

Format · Solo · 2-way

Direction · England → France → England

How this record was checked

CSA individual entry 2443 is a distinct completed two-way swim of 20:09 in 1982. The source gives no exact day; chronological order within that year is not inferred.

CSA: Cynthia Nicholas, 1982 second double

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · A separate 1982 England–France–England double in 20:09.

Other events & swims

Lake Ontario crossing

Open-water swimming · Solo swim

Friday, 16 August 1974 (event date)

Youngstown, New York → Ontario Place, Toronto

Completed the crossing in a then-record 15:10.

Elapsed time · 15h 10m

Published account checked

How this event was checked

Canada’s Sports Hall supplies 16 August 1974 and 15:10; ISHOF identifies the Youngstown–Ontario Place route and matches this athlete to her Channel career. No departure clock is inferred from the narrative.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Birth/death dates, Lake Ontario date and time, 8 August 1976 Lac St Jean women’s victory, 1979 Order of Canada and 19 Channel crossings.

International Swimming Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Career biography, Lake Ontario 1974, Lac St Jean 1976, Chaleur Bay 1977, double-crossing splits and later legal/parliamentary career.

Limitations · Retrospective narrative; several historical summaries vary from other sources. The 1976 Lac St Jean distance conflicts with Canada’s Sports Hall, so distance is omitted.

Lac St Jean professional race

Open-water swimming · Race

Sunday, 8 August 1976 (event date)

Lac St Jean, Quebec, Canada

First woman and fifth overall.

Elapsed time · 9h 14m 31s

Placing / category · First woman; fifth overall

Published account checked

How this event was checked

Canada’s Sports Hall supplies 8 August 1976 and the women’s win. ISHOF gives fifth overall and 9:14.31, rendered as 9:14:31 elapsed. The sources describe different race distances (25 versus 21 miles), so distance is intentionally unresolved.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Birth/death dates, Lake Ontario date and time, 8 August 1976 Lac St Jean women’s victory, 1979 Order of Canada and 19 Channel crossings.

International Swimming Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Career biography, Lake Ontario 1974, Lac St Jean 1976, Chaleur Bay 1977, double-crossing splits and later legal/parliamentary career.

Limitations · Retrospective narrative; several historical summaries vary from other sources. The 1976 Lac St Jean distance conflicts with Canada’s Sports Hall, so distance is omitted.

Chaleur Bay crossing

Open-water swimming · Solo swim

Sunday, 7 August 1977 (event date)

Grand Anse, New Brunswick → Paspebiac, Quebec

First woman to complete the crossing, according to the Hall of Fame.

Elapsed time · 7h 22m

Published account checked

How this event was checked

ISHOF’s athlete biography explicitly identifies 7 August 1977, the Grand Anse–Paspebiac route and 7:22; Canada’s Sports Hall corroborates the first-woman crossing in 1977. These are retrospective accounts, not an inspected observer report.

International Swimming Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Career biography, Lake Ontario 1974, Lac St Jean 1976, Chaleur Bay 1977, double-crossing splits and later legal/parliamentary career.

Limitations · Retrospective narrative; several historical summaries vary from other sources. The 1976 Lac St Jean distance conflicts with Canada’s Sports Hall, so distance is omitted.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Birth/death dates, Lake Ontario date and time, 8 August 1976 Lac St Jean women’s victory, 1979 Order of Canada and 19 Channel crossings.

Career milestones

Born in Toronto

Tuesday, 20 August 1957

Birth date and birthplace supplied by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Lake Ontario breakthrough

Friday, 16 August 1974

Completed the crossing in 15:10.

Lac St Jean women’s winner

Sunday, 8 August 1976

Women’s victory in the professional race.

First female Channel double begins

Wednesday, 7 September 1977

Left Shakespeare Beach at 07:50 and returned at 03:45 on 8 September.

Order of Canada

1979

National recognition of her sporting achievements.

Faster double crossing

1982

The CSA records an 18:55 double and another double of 20:09 that year.

Provincial public service

1987–1990

Represented Scarborough Centre in Ontario’s parliament.

Recordings & media

No reviewed recording is available for this entry.

English Channel questions

Which English Channel swims are included for Cindy Nicholas?: This profile includes 3 selected solo performances for Cindy Nicholas. It is a selected history, not a complete career total. A continuous multi-way swim counts as one performance.
When was Cindy Nicholas’s featured English Channel swim?: The featured swim started on Wednesday, 7 September 1977 and finished on Thursday, 8 September 1977.
How long did Cindy Nicholas’s featured Channel swim take?: The featured continuous 2-way solo swim has a published elapsed time of 19 hours and 55 minutes.

Biography sources

Reviewed sources

CSA: Cynthia Nicholas, 1977 double crossing

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Canada; 1977 two-way swim beginning England to France; 19:55 and first lady two-way award.

CSA: Cynthia Nicholas, 1982 record double

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 1982 England–France–England double in 18:55; world-record award.

CSA: Cynthia Nicholas, 1982 second double

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · A separate 1982 England–France–England double in 20:09.

Guinness World Records: first female double Channel crossing

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 7–8 September 1977; 07:50 Shakespeare Beach departure, 03:45 return next day, 19:55 total.

Limitations · Clock standard is not stated; no UTC offset is inferred.

International Swimming Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Career biography, Lake Ontario 1974, Lac St Jean 1976, Chaleur Bay 1977, double-crossing splits and later legal/parliamentary career.

Limitations · Retrospective narrative; several historical summaries vary from other sources. The 1976 Lac St Jean distance conflicts with Canada’s Sports Hall, so distance is omitted.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame: Cindy Nicholas

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Birth/death dates, Lake Ontario date and time, 8 August 1976 Lac St Jean women’s victory, 1979 Order of Canada and 19 Channel crossings.

CSA: Cindy Nicholas obituary

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 19 crossings, five doubles, Queen of the Channel from 1978 and 1982 record double.

Limitations · Career total is context, not a claim that every crossing has been individually added here.

Dover Museum: Cynthia (Cindy) Nicholas

Open source

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Identity bridge between Cynthia and Cindy, 19 crossings including five doubles, and Ontario parliamentary service.

Latest source review 2026-10-31.