Cindy Nicholas
Toronto swimming legend Cindy Nicholas has died at the age of 58 from liver cancer. Nicholas became a youthful sensation in the 1970s for her swimming exploits and was widely known as Scarborough’s Sweetheart. For her successes, she was awarded the Order of Canada and later rode a wave of popularity to a seat in the Ontario Legislature (Scarborough Centre). She earned a law degree and practiced near her home. Nicholas burst onto the public scene in 1974 as a 16-year-old when she set a world record for swimming Lake Ontario from Youngstown to the Canadian National Exhibition. Wikipedia records that Nicholas swam the Lake Ontario crossing in 15 hours and 10 minutes. She later swam across the English Channel on 19 occasions, including the first two-way crossing by a woman. She completed a record five two-way crossings including two in one year, earning her the sobriquet Queen of the Channel. Nicholas was named top female athlete of the year in 1977 and given the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award. In 1979 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 1993, she was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005. She was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. At that time Nicholas is quoted as having said: “I have my home, my work, my family, my spouse, my daughter and my parents. I’m a lucky girl.”
