Ontario teen youngest ever to swim Lake Ontario
Annaleise Carr comes ashore to cheers in Toronto
An Ontario teen has become the youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario.
Shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Annaleise Carr finished her 27 hour, 52-kilometre journey that began when she entered the water at Niagara-on-the-Lake at 6:17 p.m. on Saturday.
"We love her, and it was an awesome job," her father Jeff Carr said. "Unreal."
The 14-year-old swimmer from Simcoe, Ont., arrived at Marilyn Bell Park on the Toronto waterfront and climbed into an ambulance after hugging her family and receiving congratulatory cheers from hundreds of supporters on the shore.
"On her behalf I'd like to thank every single one of you for coming out here," said Ross Keegan, Carr's spokesman. "She's our hero."
The teen was examined by her doctor before heading to the hospital for a routine exam mandated by Solo Swims of Ontario, the provincial swimming body that governs people participating in long-distance swims.
Carr's team announced the teen will speak with the media at a news conference tomorrow.
The swim was designed to raise money for Camp Trilium, a camp for children with cancer. Carr has raised more than $70,000 to date.
Earlier Sunday the team received a phone call from a family who had donated $10,000 to the cause. The information was relayed to Carr, who paused her swim to raise her arms in the air and cheered.
"Everybody really got a positive push from that," Keegan said. "We were all delighted to hear that good news."
In 1954, Marilyn Bell of Toronto became the first person to swim across the lake. She was 16.