WITS END - JO LEE Magazine

Jenna Brianne Lambert entered her
first swim competition at age 10
though she never entered the pool.
PROFILE
When Jenna first touched the tile deck
of Queen's University pool in
Kingston, she found herself worrying
about what people would think of her
disability and the scars on her legs
from four separate operations. She
burst into tears and returned to the
change room.
For the rest of the year Jenna showed
up at every swim meet - yet refused to
get into the water. But the following
year - Jenna overcame her reservations
and not only got into the water but
went to her coach, herself a recordbreaking
marathon swimmer, and said
she wanted to do the Lake Ontario
crossing even though cerebral palsy
had made her legs too stiff to kick in
water. Her coach told her to come
back when she was 15 and ... she did!
When the morning of July, 2006 came
– Jenna entered the cold, tumultuous
waters for the 32 kilometer swim.
Jenna's swim teammates, some with
wheelchairs and walkers, camped out
all day on the beach to wait for her to
walk away from the finish line in her
silver walker.
But as night fell, the wind picked up
and changed course, forcing Jenna to
swim into 14-knot winds and rolling
waves that reached heights of 1.5
metres. But Jenna insisted on pushing
forward.
To pass the time - Jenna sang or paused
to speak with supporters using a
method taught by her coach: one word
for each time she turned her head to
take a breath. And after 32 hours and
18 minutes – pushing harder and harder
– young Jenna came ashore!
"It's such a great feeling! I'm doing
this for all the Penguins and all of my
friends so I can influence and raise
awareness on just what people with
disabilities can accomplish."
Jenna raised $200,000.+