Ashley Cowan Swims Lake Erie

On September 7, 15-year-old Ashley Cowan of Toronto became the youngest woman -- and first person with a disability -- to swim across Lake Erie. Cowan’s hands and feet were amputated when she contracted meningitis at the age of two. The young athlete, who swims without prosthetics, won two silver medals during the Canada Games last summer -- one was for the 100m breaststroke, for which she also set a Canadian record. Cowan had long held the goal of completing a marathon swim across Lake Erie.

It took Cowan a little over 15 hours to cross the 20-kilometre-wide Great Lake. She was coached by Vickie Keith, a marathon swimmer who also worked with Carlos Costa, the first athlete with a disability to cross Lake Ontario.

At times during the exhausting second half of the swim, Cowan felt like stopping -- but her team encouraged her to keep going. Keith’s husband, John Munro, told Canadian Press, "She toughed it out and we’re very proud of her... Everyone’s so thrilled about it."

Cowan is hoping the long-distance swim will help raise money for Variety Village, an organization in Toronto that provides active living opportunities to children with disabilities. For more information, call Variety Village at (416) 699-7167.