Jenna Lambert (born February 15, 1991) is a Canadian long-distance swimmer. She became the first female with a physical disability to swim across

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

when she was fifteen. On 18 July 2006, she entered Lake Ontario in Baird Point, New York and swam 34 kilometres to Lake Ontario Park in Kingston, Ontario and completed her feat on 19 July in 32 hours and 18 minutes.

Biography

Jenna lives in

Harrowsmith, Ontario Harrowsmith is a community in South Frontenac, Ontario, north of Kingston, once noted for its cheddar cheese, produced by the Harrowsmith Cheese Factory. As a farming village in an area resettled by many back-to-the-land emigrants from urban areas ...

, with her parents Ron and Christine Lambert, and her sister Natalie Lambert, who also is a marathon swimmer, on a hobby farm. The swim, which was predicted to take 24 hours, was extended when Jenna faced strong winds, and waves that pushed directly against her for the majority of the swim. She accomplished this feat despite not being able to use her legs due to

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. She did it to raise money to build a new swimming pool for disabled persons in her native Kingston, Ontario.CTV news coverage

/ref> Jenna Lambert also won Athlete of the year in 2007. In 2009, Jenna also completed a one-woman ultra-triathlon in an effort to raise further awareness for the Y Knot Abilities Programs. This was a 270 km journey which took her from Belleville to Ottawa in 48 hours and 17 mins. Divided into three parts, the adventure was 1 part swim (30 km) 1 part hand-cycle (230 km) and 1 part wheel in a manual wheelchair (10 km). Jenna is now focusing on her competitive aspirations and is swimming as a part of Team Canada. Jenna attended

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

and she competed at the

2011 Parapan American Games The 4th Parapan American Games took place from November 12 to 20 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes with a physical disability. The Games were held 20 days after the 2011 Pan American Games beg ...

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Mexico where she finished in eighth position in 100m breaststroke, 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

External links

Jenna Lambert's Kid 4 Kids Marathon

References

People from Frontenac County Canadian female long-distance swimmers Living people 1991 births 21st-century Canadian women Sportspeople with cerebral palsy {{Canada-swimming-bio-stub