Cynthia Maria "Cindy" Nicholas, (August 20, 1957 – May 19, 2016) was a long distance swimmer and a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. In 1977, she became the first woman to complete a two-way crossing of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. From 1987 to 1990 she was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Background

Nicholas was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

. She worked as a lawyer in Scarborough, Ontario. She had a daughter. She died from liver cancer on May 19, 2016.

Swimming

At age 16, she attained provincial fame by swimming 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 ...

in 15 hours and 10 minutes. She later swam across the

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''. She 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 The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In 1993, she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the s ...

in 2005. She was inducted into the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...

in 2003. ;Two-way Channel swims 1977 - 19 h 55 min (breaking Jon Erikson's record of 30 hours, and the first ever two-way crossing by a woman)
1979 - 19 h 12 min
1981 - 22 h 21 min
1982 - 18 h 55 min
1982 - 20 h 09 min

Politics

She was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election to represent the east

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

riding of Scarborough Centre, defeating New Democratic Party candidate Menno Vorster by 3,396 votes. For the next three years, Nicholas served as a backbench supporter of

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgr ...

's government. She was

parliamentary assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

to the Solicitor General from 1989 to 1990. The Liberals were defeated by the NDP in the 1990 provincial election and Nicholas lost her seat to NDP candidate Steve Owens by 3,068 votes. She returned to her legal practice in the Toronto district of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Cindy 1957 births 2016 deaths Canadian sportsperson-politicians Canadian female long-distance swimmers English Channel swimmers Members of the Order of Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Toronto Swimmers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni University of Windsor alumni Women MPPs in Ontario 20th-century Canadian women

Background

Swimming

Politics

See also

References

External links