Born: November 19, 1937
Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario
Major Notes:
Encouraged by her parents, Bell joined the Lakeshore Swimming Club at Port Credit, Ontario
Bell made her mark on the world with several marathon swimming records.
In 1954, an American champion swimmer was offered $10,000 to swim Lake Ontario and the 16 year old Bell was set to be her competitor without remuneration.
She captured the hearts of Canadians with being the first woman to swim the 52 kilometers (32 miles)across Lake Ontario.
Making such a swim not only took time (21 hours) but also meant fighting off fatigue, eels, high winds, and oil spills.
Bell credits swimming coach Gus Ryder for giving her the incentive and skills to make such long swims.
A year later saw Bell become the youngest swimmer to ever swim across the English Channel.
Her next accomplishment was swimming across the Juan de Fuca Strait.
After that swim, she decided to retire from marathon swim competitions.
Bell's story still serves as inspiration for Canadian swimmers and was made into a CBC movie in 1999.
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