Retired long-distance swimmer Marilyn Bell appears in a family photo with her youngest daughter, Jodi DiLascio.
Bell made history on Aug. 23, 1956, when, at age 18, she swam across the Juan de Fuca Strait in 10 hours and 40 minutes.
On the Victoria Daily Times front page from that day, she’s shown after her triumphant swim. Now 78, Bell lives in New Paltz, New York. She has four children and five grandchildren.
DiLascio, of San Clemente, California, was in Victoria for the first time this week to visit some of the landmarks from her mother’s early life and Vancouver Island history. DiLascio and her daughter-in-law, Crystal Stoey, look at clippings of Bell’s accomplishment.
DiLascio and Stoey visit the Marilyn Bell cairn off Dallas Road in Victoria.
