Four women who have swum across Lake Ontario — Marilyn Bell, Vicki Keith, Annaleise Carr, and Trinity Arsenault — will be joining the 30th anniversary of the Carl Oake Swimathon on Friday, February 12th at the Peterborough YMCA.
Now 70 years old, Carl Oake swam his first lengths in the pool at the former YMCA building at George and Murray Streets in 1987, raising $4,000 for Easter Seals.
Through the annual swimathon, the well-known Peterborough real estate broker and Rotary member has since helped raise more than $950,000 for Rotary projects and Easter Seals.
This year, the swimathon’s goal is to have 45 teams participating and to raise $55,000. Awards will be given to the top team fundraiser, the top individual fundraiser, and the wackiest-dressed team.
If you want to register a team and start fundraising, call Kayla Shannick at Century 21 at 705-743-4444 or email kayla.shannick@century21.ca. You can also donate directly online at www.canadahelps.org.
To help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the swimathon, three generations of famous Canadian female swimmers will be joining Carl Oake to swim lengths of the YMCA pool: Marilyn Bell, Vicki Keith, Annaleise Carr, and Trinity Arsenault.
There’ll also be a “meet and greet” with Marilyn Bell — the first person to swim across Lake Ontario — on Thursday, February 11th from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Royal Gardens Retirement Residence (1160 Clonsilla Ave., Peterborough). Bell will deliver a 15-minute talk followed by a question-and-answer session.
Marilyn Bell
The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) had offered American marathon swimmer Florence Chadwick $10,000 to swim across the lake as a publicity stunt. When Bell found out about the event, she volunteered to swim across the lake and swam 64 kilometres in 20 hours and 59 minutes, becoming an instant sports celebrity.
The following year, she also became the youngest person to swim across the English Channel, completing that swim in 14 hours and 36 minutes.
Vicki Keith
Although she retired from marathon swimming in 1991, Keith continues to raise awareness and funds for programs and projects to help children with physical disabilities, raising over $1 million, and makes public appearances as an inspirational speaker.
Annaleise Carr and Trinity Arsenault
A few months younger than Carr at the time of her swim, Arsenault now holds the record as the youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario.
For updates on the 30th anniversary swimathon, follow the Peterborough Rotary Club on Twitter @ptborotary and like them on Facebook.
