Marilyn Bell Di Lascio was “totally flabbergasted” when told she was going to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

By Jim Morris

“I was shocked and very humbled for sure,” she said.

Known as one of Canada’s greatest open water swimmers, Bell Di Lascio said she won only a few medals competing in shorter pool races.

“If you go back and look at my record as a competitive amateur swimmer, I didn’t set the world on fire,” the 84-year-old said with a laugh. “I wasn’t really a water baby. I had very few medals to even show that I participated.”

Bell Di Lascio, who was born in Toronto and now lives in New Paltz, N.Y., was inducted this fall into the hall of fame in the same class as American swimmer Rebecca Soni, Australia’s Michael Klim and Russian synchronized swimmer Elvira Khasyanova.

Being named to the hall rekindled fond memories of the mentors who helped and encouraged Bell Di Lascio during her career. Those included fellow long-distance swimmers Gertrude Ederle and Winnie Roach-Leuszler, and coaches Alex Duff and Gus Ryder.

“I truly believe we all succeed on the shoulders of those that have gone before us,” said Bell Di Lascio.

“The history of our sport has become really important to me. I always believe I would never have been successful in marathon swimming if I had not had many mentors who went before me.”

She credits Duff with teaching her to swim when he was nine years old, and Ryder “who saw something in me I didn’t know was there.

“He had this uncanny way of finding something in a swimmer to build on.”

As a 16-year-old in 1954, Bell Di Lascio became a Canadian hero for being the first person to swim the 51 kilometres across Lake Ontario. The circumstances of the swim made her achievement even more remarkable.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) had paid American Florence Chadwick, the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, $10,000 to attempt the Lake Ontario crossing.

Bell Di Lascio and her friend Roach-Leuszler, the first Canadian to cross the English Channel, were frustrated the offer had not been made to a Canadian.

They decided to attempt the crossing at the same time as Chadwick.

“Neither one of us were invited,” said Bell Di Lascio. “We were renegades I guess you could say.”

Neither Chadwick nor Roach-Leuszler completed the swim but Bell Di Lascio finished in 20 hours, 59 minutes. Over 300,000 people witnessed her landing.

She was awarded the purse and The Canadian Press named her the Canadian Newsmaker of the Year.

In 1955, a 17-year-old Bell Di Lascio became the youngest person to swim the English Channel, making the crossing in 14 hours, 36 minutes. Upon her return to Toronto she was greeted by a ticker tape parade and a crowd of 100,000 along Bay Street to City Hall.

In 1956 she battled bone-chilling eight-degree water temperatures to swim the Juan de Fuca Strait between Washington State and Victoria. She covered the 29 kilometres in 10 hours, 38 minutes, a record that stood for more than 60 years.

Of all her achievements, Bell Di Lascio is most proud of was her first, one-mile senior women’s race when she was only 11.

The event was part of the CNE and Roach-Leuszler convinced her to enter. On race day, the water temperature was nine degrees Celsius.

“I had never been in water that cold,” said Bell Di Lascio. “Winnie said, ‘It doesn’t matter the temperature or how deep it is, you’re swimming on the top and as long as you keep going, you’re going to be fine.’

“That was my introduction to Lake Ontario open water swimming.” Bell Di Lascio placed ninth among the nine swimmers who finished. To deal with a headache brought on by the cold, she completed the race doing a backstroke.

“That’s the one I’m most proud of,” she said. “When I dove in and that cold water hit my forehead, I was pretty sure I couldn’t do it.

“I was really proud of having finished. I felt really happy that Winnie was watching. She really was the motivator for me even trying it and was there to celebrate with me.”

Over the years Bell Di Lascio mentored many swimmers from different countries, usually communicating over the internet.

“These swimmers become like my children,” she said. “In fact, a lot of them call me mom.”

One swimmer, Kate Hulford of Toronto, finished ninth in the 1,500-metre freestyle at the recent FINA Swimming World Cup in Toronto in the event where American Katie Ledecky set a world short-course record.

Susan Simmons, a long-distance swimmer in Victoria who lives with multiple sclerosis, contacted Bell Di Lascio several years ago. Simmons asked her to be part of her team attempting to cross the Juan de Fuca Strait. Health reasons prevented Bell Di Lascio from attending in person, but she kept in touch via the internet.

“I followed from the first stroke,” said Bell Di Lascio. “When she was probably two or three hours from Victoria, I started look at her time. I realized there’s a strong possibility she was going to beat my time.”

Bell Di Lascio was “thrilled, ecstatic” when Simmons finished in 10 hours, six minutes.

Bell Di Lascio retired from long distance swimming in 1956. She later married Joe Di Lascio, a lifeguard she met while training in Atlantic City. She became a teacher and raised four children in New Jersey. Her husband died four days short of the couple’s 50^th wedding anniversary.

Bell Di Lascio lives in a retirement home. She has severe scoliosis and osteoporosis but still enjoys 6 a.m. swims.

She has been inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Swimming Hall of Fame.  She was named one of Canada’s top athletes of the century and was presented with the Order of Ontario.

Over the years Bell Di Lascio is thrilled to see the increased recognition of women in sport.

“Women have really shown that sex means nothing,” she said.

Bell Di Lascio laughed when talking about different theories as to why women can be as strong, or even stronger, than men.

“I often say, just think about it,” she said. “The women are the ones that have babies. There’s a message there guys.”