Dr. Vicki Keith Munro, CM, O.Ont, LLD, ChPC (born 26 February 1961 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian retired marathon swimmer, coach and advocate for disabled athletes. Her accomplishments include the first crossing of all five Great Lakes, a 100-hour swim and the world record distance of 80.2 kilometers swum using the butterfly stroke. Many people consider Keith as the face of marathon swimming.

Keith once said "I promised myself when I first got into marathon swimming that everything I'd do would be a first".

Lake Ontario North to South crossing

On 15 August 1986, Keith swam across Lake Ontario, from the North of the lake at the end of Leslie Street Spit (now known as Vicki Keith point), to the South of the lake at Port Dalhousie. This crossing took her 26 hours and 59 minutes and the total distance was 45.8 kilometers.

Lake Erie was the first of the five great lakes successfully crossed. On 2 July at 6:06 pm, Keith swam from Port Colborne, Ontario to Sturgeon Point, New York - a distance of 26 kilometers which she swam in 10 hours and 24 minutes. Her record time only was beaten 13 years later by Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE who crossed the channel in 14 hours and 18 minutes. Keith said following the swim "It wasn't enough for me to just swim the English Channel the way everyone else has.", and hence, she completed the swim using the butterfly stroke. During the swim, she was carried 4 kilometers westward by the currents, but was then carried back eastward again.

Coaching achievements

Keith has coached 6 athletes to world records in marathon swimming: and Abi Tripp to silver and bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games, a bronze medal in the World Para Swimming Championships, several Canadian records and other international competition finals.

Charity work

In addition to her volunteer coaching throughout the years, Keith has been heavily involved in raising money for charity and committing her time to helping people. Over her lifetime, Keith has raised over a million Canadian dollars for charity projects worldwide. including inductions into Halls of Fame, awards, plaques and national and provincial orders.

Plaques

Keith has had four plaques erected in her honour. Two plaques commemorate her 75 kilometer crossing of Lake Huron, which are located at Harbor Beach, Michigan and Goderich, Ontario. A further plaque containing a poem commemorating her crossing of Lake Huron was originally also located in Goderich, however this plaque no longer exists. The final plaque, located at the end of Leslie Street Spit, named its location "Vicki Keith point" and commemorates her Lake Ontario swims and fund raising efforts.

Vicki Keith Point plaque

thumb|Plaque at Vicki Keith Point|alt=Plaque at Vicki Keith Point

Ever since Leslie Street Spit was constructed as a landfill, Vicki Keith commonly used the end of the Leslie Street Spit as a starting and finishing point when swimming across Lake Ontario rather than the traditional finishing point of Marilyn Bell Park.

Goderich Beach plaque

thumb|Vicki Keith Goderich Beach Plaque

The first plaque erected to commemorate Keith's Lake Huron swim was placed on November 29, 1989, adjacent to the South side of the boardwalk overlooking where Keith finished her Lake Huron swim, at 270 Harbor Street, Goderich, Ontario. The plaque tells the story of Keith's "epic" Lake Huron swim, and describes Keith as "bravely" swimming through the days, and that there was a crowd of 400 people cheering her in as she finished the last few hundred yards with her "trademark" butterfly stroke. The plaque formed the shape of an open book, with 7 verses of the poem on the left, and 6 verses on the right. Hence, the poem contained a total of 13 verses, with each verse 4 lines long. Similarly to the plaque next to it, it celebrated Keith's great lakes crossings, the crossing of Lake Huron and her fundraising efforts.

Halls of Fame

In 1993, Keith was inducted into the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame.

Keith was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 2005, Keith was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, for her numerous achievements in marathon swimming, especially her 80.5 kilometer butterfly swim around the shore line of Lake Ontario. Also recognized are her disability coaching efforts and fundraising over $1 million CAD for charity over her lifetime.

In addition to being inducted into many Halls of Fame, Keith has also participated in the selection committees of the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Sports Awards. She is therefore entitled to the post-nominal letters C.M.

Order of Ontario

In 1990, Keith was awarded the Order of Ontario, the highest order in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hence, Keith is also entitled to the post-nominal letters O. Ont.

See also

  • Harbor Beach Light

References

  • Page about Vicki Keith at Solo Swims
  • Vicki Keith at Openwaterpedia