Cindy Nicholas
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Cynthia Maria Nicholas (born August 20, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario) is a former athlete and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990.
Nicholas was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Windsor. She works as a lawyer.
At age 16 she attained provincial fame by swimming across Lake Ontario in 15 hours and 10 minutes. She would later swim across the English Channel on 19 occasions, including the first two way crossing by a woman. She went on to complete a record 5 two way crossings (see below for list of successful two way channel swims) including 2 in one year, earning her the soubriquet Queen of the Channel. (The title now belongs to Alison Streeter who has completed 43 crossings). For her efforts, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1979. In 1993, she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005.
Two Way Channel Swims[1]
1977 - 19 h 55 mins (10 h 05 mins quicker than the previous record)
1979 - 19 h 12 mins
1981 - 22 h 21 mins
1982 - 18 h 55 mins
1982 - 20 h 09 mins
She was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, defeating New Democratic Party candidate Menno Vorster by 3,396 votes. Progressive Conservative incumbent William C. Davis (who is not to be confused with Bill Davis, the former Premier of Ontario) finished third. For the next three years, Nicholas served as a backbench supporter of David Peterson's government. She was parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General from 1989 to 1990.
The Liberals were unexpectedly 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 a successful legal practice in Scarborough.
