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Practice dictation & shadowing on the daily life story: Conquering Lake Ontario
Conquering Lake Ontario
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Conquering Lake Ontario
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in 490 BC, the Greek runner Philippity's ran the 24 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory.
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His endurance was so much admired that runners ever since have attempted to run similar long marathon distances.
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In the 20th century, however, long distance swimming has also attracted attention and admiration.
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To swim.
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The English Channel, or Wanda Fuca straight between Vancouver Island and the mainland, have become challenges for both male and female swimmers.
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In September 1954, some Canadian businessman from Toronto offered veteran Californian champion Florence Chadwick $10,000 if she could swim Lake Ontario.
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They felt sure that such a feat would attract large crowds.
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Chadwick had swam the English Channel in both directions.
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However, no one, neither man nor woman had crossed Lake Ontario.
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It was a 32 mile swim through cold water and difficult currents.
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Two other women also decided to take up the challenge.
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One, Winnie Roach, Laosler, had also swam the English Channel.
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The other was a 16 year old girl named Marilyn Bell.
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The swimmers traveled to the mouth of the Niagara River on the South side of Lake Ontario.
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They would swim from Youngstown in the USA back to Toronto.
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Bad weather delayed the swim for several days.
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During the night of September 8th, the weather cleared and the swimmers entered the water before midnight.
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Guided by her coach's flashlight, Marilyn swam through the dark water and soon passed Chadwick, who was lifted from the water after swimming 12 miles.
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Lauzler made it further, but she too eventually had to give up.
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Marilyn not only had to overcome her fears of the dark, but she was attacked during the night by bloodsucking lamprey eels.
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She was able to knock these off with her fist.
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As dawn approached, the winds and waves increased and Marilyn's weariness mounted.
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Her coach, Gus Ryder, passed her some corn syrup on a stick and later gave her liniment for her tired legs.
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He wrote messages on a blackboard to encourage her to keep going.
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Sometimes he tricked her into thinking that she was nearer to the shore than she was.
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Marilyn fell asleep in the water twice and had to be awakened.
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The second time.
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A friend of hers jumped into the water beside her and swam with her for a distance.
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Because Marilyn's strength was declining, she was being pushed off course by the currents.
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Although the direct route was 32 miles, Marilyn swam a total of 45 miles, The last few miles were extremely difficult.
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Marilyn's family and the lifeguards felt that she should be taken out of the water, but her coach threatened to quit as her coach if the swimmer gave up.
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It was getting dark again and the swimmer was barely conscious as she approached the shore.
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Thousands of people lined the shore, hoping to touch her or get a picture of her.
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Marilyn supporters had to push the crowds back so they wouldn't stop her from touching the shore.
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Finally, after 21 hours in the water, Marilyn reached land.
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The exhausted girl was rushed to an ambulance.
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She had lost about 20 pounds of her 120 pounds weight in the crossing.
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Finally, she was able to sleep.
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Huge crowds came out to see her the next day, and two days later there was a parade in her honor.
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Through the streets of Toronto, everyone admired the courage and endurance of the 16 year old girl who became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario.