ATHLETE – SWIMMING – INDUCTED IN 2016
An accomplished swimmer who took part in Olympic trials, Colleen Shields made a name for herself in the open waters of Lake Ontario.
Shields is one of only three swimmers to complete three crossings of Lake Ontario, each time establishing a record for the oldest woman to complete the swim.
She made her first crossing in 1990, swimming 45.3-kilometres between Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Leslie Street Spit.
After taking part in a relay to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Bell’s first crossing, Shields was determined to complete the traditional 50.5-kilometre route.
Sixteen years after her first crossing, Shields set out to conquer the lake again. Despite the longer swim and being just shy of her 55th birthday, Shields knocked an hour and 26 minutes off her previous time, finishing in 16 hours, 30 minutes. She also reclaimed the title of oldest woman to cross Lake Ontario.
Shields made five attempts between 2008 and 2012, each ending due injury or weather conditions. Twice she completed more than 45 kilometres.
Undaunted, Shields made another attempt in 2014. When she arrived on shore after 21 hours and 39 minutes, she was greeted by Marilyn Bell. At 62, Shields became the oldest swimmer, male or female, to cross Lake Ontario.
Her record was broken in 2017, but Shields remains one of only two swimmers to cross Lake Ontario after their 60th birthday, and the only Canadian.
Shields received Solo Swims of Ontario’s Cliff Lumsdon Award for achievements in marathon swimming and was inducted into the Solo Swims of Ontario Hall of Fame.
She has twice earned medals at the World Masters Swim Championships – gold in the backstroke in 1989 and silver in the three-kilometre open water swim in 2002. In 2008, she won four gold medals at the Canadian National Masters Swimming Championships.