A few weeks ago I wrote about Florence Chadwick’s 1952 swim between Catalina Islandand the California coast. Recently I was watching a film called, “Heart – The Marilyn Bell Story” with my children which fast forwarded to 1954, by which time Chadwick had become an international success, was regarded as the premiere international female marathon swimmer, and had gained celebrity status.
During the 1954 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, the largest national fair in Canada at the commencement of each summer, fair promoters were concerned with the gaining popularity of TV; people would rather sit on their couches, at home, rather than come to the fair. The promoters needed an over the top event to gain foot traffic and infuse the fair with revenue. They concocted an exhibition swimming race; a 32 mile marathon swim across one of the largest lakes in the world, “Lake Ontario,” from Youngstown, NY to the CNE port in Toronto.
Not only is Lake Ontario 32 miles of open water without shelter, a multitude of other attributes make it one of the world’s most difficult lakes to swim: it’s so large it can create its own weather; it’s known for 10 foot swells; it has astoundingly strong cross currents which make even expert swimmers feel like they are swimming in glue; and to top it all off, it is one of the deepest and coldest lakes in the world, peaking at a sweltering 60ºF in the dead of summer. No swimmer had ever swum across Lake Ontario, let alone such a long distance. CNE promoters, needing a pro to complete in the exhibition, recruited Florence Chadwick for a sum of $10,000 ($100,000 in present value) to take on the challenge.
During the same time period, Marylyn Bell was a 16 year old amateur club level swimmer who had just competed in her first 10 mile marathon in Atlantic City, placing 7th overall and 1st in the women’s category. Her coach, Gus Ryder, was perturbed the CNE chose to offer celebrity swimmer Chadwick a $10,000 participation fee and so much control over the race; one of Chadwick’s contracted conditions was she would choose the date and start time, with the obligation to give only three hours notice. Ryder thought the CNE would have been better off offered Chadwick’s fee as the exhibition’s prize, which would have given local Torontonian swimmers an opportunity of a lifetime. Regardless, Ryder was certain his young swimmer had the heart of champion and convinced a local newspaper to sponsor Bell’s exhibition entrance in return for the exclusive story.
On that September 8th at 8PM, Chadwick gave her 3-hour notice and the race was set for 11PM. The CNE promoters only gave Bell 25 minutes notice. As a result, Bell had to swim alone without her lifeline boat in the pitch black for the first mile, as her crew did not have time to position their boats. Chadwick became ill after several hours and had to quit, claiming to the media it was the oil and gas in the water from the surrounding boats that made her ill; she later admitted she had taken the opportunity for granted and had not trained as much as she could have.
While Chadwick pulled out, Bell continued to swim her heart out, even though the rules of the race were not in her favor. Bell could not come in contact with her lifeline boat, not even to drink or eat, and she didn’t even have a wet suit. Coach Ryder would hand her coffee cups of pabulum, corn syrup, lemon juice, and water on stick with a metal ring to keep her going. The planned route straight across the lake was 32 miles, but Bell actually swam much further due to strong winds and lack of modern navigation equipment. Conditions included 15 foot waves, a water temperature of 65 °F, and eels known to attack. Radio stations broadcast hourly reports of Bell’s progress and newspapers published “extra” editions throughout the day. Bell swam for 20 hours and 59 minutes until she finally arrived at breakwater near the Boulevard Club, west of the CNE grounds at about 8:15PM. A crowd of 300,000 people had gathered at the waterfront to give her an emotional welcome. The CNE decided to give Bell a $10,000 prize, including a new car and television.
While watching this film I was reminded of a recent field visit with a sales rep having relative new product sales success in comparison to her peers; I decided to ask her, “What is your mindset in relation to your success with this new product?” Her answer reminded me of a saying my mom would often repeat, “This too shall pass.” In other words, when things are going well, this sales rep quickly enjoys the success and moves on; in contrast, if she has set backs, she remembers these situations can’t last forever. This balanced perspective prevents complacency in good times by keeping her humble and appreciative of success, while still realizing things can change quickly. So whether you are having success or struggling, enjoy your success, but be ready to give it your all when faced with challenges, knowing that this too shall pass.
For those interested you can rent the movie on Netflix:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Heart_The_Marilyn_Bell_Story/70039650?locale=en-US
