Lake Ontario
Open-water swimming · Solo swim
Wednesday, 8 September 1954 – Thursday, 9 September 1954
Youngstown, New York → Toronto, Ontario
Completed Youngstown → Toronto; first person across the lake. Published durations differ: SSO 20h55m; ISHOF 20h59m.
Published distance · 51.5 km planned route
Sources disagree
How this event was checked
SSO row 1 and its detailed athlete biography give 8–9 September and 20h55m. Parks Canada independently confirms the 9 September finish. ISHOF gives 20h59m. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame also gives 20h59m but shifts the dates a day; its dates are not adopted. Completion is supported; exact duration remains unresolved.
Solo Swims of Ontario: successful Lake Ontario swims
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Selected individual register rows: Marilyn Bell no. 1 and Vicki Keith no. 24, including route legend and two-way flag.
Limitations · Retrospective register. Bell’s elapsed time conflicts with ISHOF; original observer paperwork was not inspected.
Solo Swims of Ontario: Marilyn Bell DiLascio
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Detailed named career bridges English Channel identity with Ontario and Juan de Fuca, including dates, route and elapsed time.
Limitations · Retrospective biography, not original timing documentation. Ontario’s 20h55m conflicts with ISHOF’s 20h59m.
Parks Canada: Marilyn Bell national historic event
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Official plaque text explicitly identifies the Ontario completion on the evening of 9 September 1954.
Limitations · Only approximate elapsed duration; no original timing log.
ISHOF: Marilyn Bell
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Lake Ontario duration, route scale and identity bridge to English Channel and Juan de Fuca.
Limitations · Historical biography; not a timing certificate.
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame: Marilyn Bell
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Corroborates the Ontario completion and 20h59m version.
Limitations · Its sentence dating departure 9 September and arrival the next day conflicts with SSO and Parks Canada; those date statements are not adopted.
Strait of Juan de Fuca
Open-water swimming · Solo swim
Thursday, 23 August 1956 (event date)
Port Angeles, Washington → Clover Point, Victoria
Completed her second attempt across the strait.
Elapsed time · 11h 35m
Published distance · 18.3 miles
Historical account checked
How this event was checked
SSO’s detailed Bell biography explicitly gives 23 August 1956, 18.3 miles and 11h35m, and distinguishes the failed 10 August attempt. Etobicoke independently corroborates the successful date. The exact event date is not labelled departure or arrival.
Solo Swims of Ontario: Marilyn Bell DiLascio
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Detailed named career bridges English Channel identity with Ontario and Juan de Fuca, including dates, route and elapsed time.
Limitations · Retrospective biography, not original timing documentation. Ontario’s 20h55m conflicts with ISHOF’s 20h59m.
Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame: Marilyn Bell
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Marilyn Bell section explicitly dates the Ontario departure 8 September and arrival 9 September 1954, and Juan de Fuca 23 August 1956.
Limitations · No Juan de Fuca elapsed time supplied. Original observer logs were not inspected.
CAN