Solo SwimsÂ
of Ontario
Safety is our mandate
Christine Arsenault
* Matriarch, Coach, Pilot and Swimmer *
Christine Arsenault first made a splash in the open water swimming world when she swam Lake Ontario August 8-9, 2011 at the age of 34. She swam the 51 kilometres from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto in 22 hours and 22 minutes. The start of the swim was rough at the Niagara sand bar with waves up to 3 feet. It soon flattened out but then Christine suffered from nausea and vomiting for lengthy periods. In the last 3 to 4 hours, a strong southeasterly wind brought 4 to 5 foot waves and pouring rain in the last couple of hours. Christine was well trained and maintained a strong stroke and good spirits in the waves and rain. One of the highlights of the swim for Christine was when her daughters Trinity and Michaela accompanied her for the last 100 metres into shore.
Christine is best known for being the matriarch and coach of an open water swimming family:
* Her oldest daughter, Trinity, swam Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in 2014 at 14 years of age. She became the youngest to swim Lake Ontario on the Niagara-on-the-Lake to Marilyn Bell Park route.
* Christine and Trinity became the first parent-child pair to swim Lake Ontario.
* Trinity became the youngest Canadian to swim the English Channel on September 14, 2016.
* Then Christine's younger daughter, Michaela, swam Lake Erie at 14 years, 21 days in 2016 becoming the youngest SSO swimmer ever.
Most recently, Christine is Captain of the R&R, a 39 foot twin engine Flybridge Carver boat. She has piloted many swims across Lake Ontario and Lake Erie with SSO and is noted for maintaining some of the straightest tracks for the swimmers.
Lake Ontario Relay, 2015:
In 2015 Christine managed a group that included her daughters and their team-mates on an epic relay swim in Lake Ontario in 2015 (not SSO sanctioned). The group swimming the lake achieved a World Record for the most kilometres (over 90) swum in a 24 hour period on August 31 - September 1, 2015. The swim raised funds for the charity "Canadian Tire Jumpstart foundation".
The 8-person team is shown below with manager Christine Arsenault:
L-R: Ayla Jukosky (11), Trinity Arsenault (15), Abby-gail Jones (15), Christine Arsenault (Manager), Michaela Arsenault (13), Charlie French (14), Jayson Pigeon (14), Ming Scott (17), and Alyssa Mundy (17).
