Cliff Lumsdon

Who was Cliff Lumsdon?

Clifford Douglas "Cliff" Lumsdon Jr., CM, O.Ont was a Canadian world champion marathon swimmer.

From New Toronto, Lumsdon was coached by Gus Ryder at the Lakeshore Swimming Club. He turned professional when he was 16 and would later say that the only regret in his career was giving up his amateur status before the 1948 Summer Olympics. In 1949, at the age of 18, Lumsdon won the world marathon championship in Toronto, defeating 46 competitors in the annual 15-mile race at the Canadian National Exhibition. He won $6,300—$5,500 for winning the race and $800 for leading all laps and swimming the fastest lap. On the strength of that victory, he was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete of 1949.

Lumsdon would go on to win four more marathons at the CNE, including a 32-mile race along the Lake Ontario waterfront in 1955. Lumsdon was the only one of 29 starters to complete the course—no other swimmer even made it to the half-way point. Lumsdon was accompanied for part of the race by his fiancee, and by fellow Lakeshore swimmer Marilyn Bell, riding in a boat. Lumsdon won $15,000 for his victory, plus thousands more in bonus money.