Hamilton woman plans to be first Canadian to swim the length of Lake Tahoe

Marilyn Korzekwa is a marathon swimmer. She was the first person to cross the width of Lake Ontario both ways, a distance of more than 90 kilometers. She also was the first Canadian to swim the Cook Strait in New Zealand.

On August 20, she plans to add to her long list of accomplishments by becoming the first Canadian to swim the length of Lake Tahoe.

According to Korzekwa, “Lake Tahoe because there have been 40 Americans to swim it, but no Canadians. So it’s my opportunity to be the first Canadian to swim it.”

Marilyn Korzekwa guesses it’ll take anywhere from 15-17 hours to swim the length of Lake Tahoe. She says swimming in the cold rough water of Lake Ontario is certainly good practice.

Korzekwa is trying to raise $10,000 for the Sashbear Foundation.

Lynn Courey started the foundation following the suicide of her daughter Sasha in 2011. Courey says, “My daughter was struggling with intense emotions, and she wasn’t and we weren’t able to find her the proper care to help her out.”

Sasha was a competitive swimmer who loved being in the water. Courey continued, “For her when she was swimming, she said it was her lifeline, and water was helping her regulate her own emotions.”

Marilyn Korzekwa is a Psychiatrist at McMaster and says some of the behavioral therapy skills taught to people with mental illness can be used in long distance swimming as well.

Altitude will be one of the biggest challenges for Marilyn, which is why she trained in Utah last fall. As a result, she’ll be heading to Nevada a couple weeks before the swim, to get used to the conditions.