Who Was Cindy Nicholas?

Cynthia Maria “Cindy” Nicholas (August 20, 1957 – May 19, 2016) was a celebrated Canadian marathon swimmer, attorney, and politician. Known famously as the “Queen of the Channel,” she dominated long-distance swimming throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Her most remarkable feat occurred in 1977, when the 20-year-old athlete set a world record of 19 hours and 55 minutes, making her both the first woman and the youngest person to complete a continuous two-way crossing of the English Channel. Over her swimming career, Nicholas completed 19 total channel crossings, including five double trips. Her extraordinary athletic achievements earned her the women’s world marathon swimming title in 1976 and Canada’s prestigious Bobbie Rosenfeld Award in 1977.

At just 16 years old, Cindy Nicholas launched her marathon swimming career on August 16, 1974, by crossing Lake Ontario from Youngstown, New York, to Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition. Her finish time of 15 hours and 10 minutes shattered all existing men’s and women’s records, besting Marilyn Bell’s historic 1954 time by nearly six hours. Moving to international waters, she set a new record during her first one-way English Channel swim in July 1975, clocking in at 9 hours and 46 minutes—a mark that remained unbroken for 13 years. Following two additional successful channel crossings in September 1976, the World Federation of Swimming named her the women’s world marathon swimming champion.

Nicholas continued to make history in September 1977 when she completed a continuous two-way crossing of the English Channel at age 20. She became the first female and youngest athlete to accomplish the feat, cutting almost 10 hours off the previous record with a time of 19 hours and 55 minutes. Her dominant performance that year earned her the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s top female athlete. Domestically, she also conquered Chaleur Bay between Quebec and New Brunswick, setting the inaugural women’s record in 1977 before becoming the first person ever to complete a round-trip swim there in 1978.

By 1979, having completed six Channel crossings, she earned the permanent title “Queen of the Channel” and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. By the conclusion of her open-water career in 1982, Nicholas had logged 19 total English Channel crossings, including an unprecedented five round trips.

Following her retirement from competitive swimming, Cindy Nicholas transitioned into a successful legal career. She earned her degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Windsor before being admitted to the Law Society of Ontario in 1984. She later entered public service and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal representative for Scarborough Centre in 1987. During her tenure, she served as the parliamentary assistant to the solicitor general from 1989 to 1990. After losing her seat in the 1990 provincial election, she returned to practicing law privately.

Cindy Nicholas passed away from liver failure at the age of 58 in 2016.