Marilyn Bell

About

The first woman to swim across Lake Ontario, also later crossed The English Channel and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Before Fame

She began taking swimming lessons in a local pool at age 9, and by 1947 began competing in long-distance swimming events.

Trivia

She was just 16 years old when she completed her record-setting 32-mile swim from Youngstown, NY, across Lake Ontario to Toronto.

Family Life

She had four children with her husband Joe Di Lascio.

Associated With

She wasn't the first woman across the English Channel - that honor belonged to Gertrude Ederle in 1926 - but she was the youngest.