In 2025, Toronto swimmer Lev Goldberg swam the entirety of Lake Ontario and made history as the first openly trans person to do so. Now, he’s preparing to take on the 55-kilometre trek across Lake Huron — and he says that’s just the beginning.
“Before I started across Lake Ontario, I had already decided all five Great Lakes was my goal,” Goldberg says.
He says that when he decided he wanted to swim across Lake Ontario, he realized a few things pretty quickly: he would be the first trans person to do so, but he would also be the first trans person to swim across any Great Lake, and he would also be the first trans person to complete any ratified marathon swim (meaning it is independently verified and officially approved by a governing body).
“There are lots of trans athletes out there doing amazing things, but there is no trans representation in this particular space of marathon swimming,” he says.
Goldberg, who is originally from outside Philadelphia but moved to Toronto when he was 17, says he got to learn more about Toronto’s open water swimming history and icons of the sport as he got more into swimming. He cites Marilyn Bell (the first person to swim across Lake Ontario) and Kim Lumsdon (who swam across Lake Ontario twice and earned the title of the oldest woman to complete the swim) as inspiration, as well as Vicki Keith — the first person to swim all five Great Lakes.
“And she did it all in one summer!” Goldberg says.
Setting a major goal like this one is something Goldberg says is tied to his love of training as an athlete. “I love the training so much; for instance, when I was training for my first half marathon, I was signed up for the full marathon before I ran the race because I just loved it. And that’s how it was with the lakes.”
Goldberg has been training all year towards his Lake Huron swim, which he says will likely take place on Aug. 4–5 depending on weather conditions. That includes doing five to six swims a week and getting into lakes for as long a period of time as he can to build up his cold water tolerance — even as early as March, when temperatures were around 0–2 C.
“I’ve probably swam about 350 kilometres total over the three to four months leading up to this that I’ve been training,” he says. “So it’s just going to be the last 55 kilometres!”
Goldberg says that while being that representation for the trans community was important to him, he didn’t want it to be about visibility only — so he decided to raise funds for an organization that matters to him. “I made my swim fundraiser for LGBT Youthline, which is a peer support organization for youth in Ontario,” he says. “People can access via chat or text, and they get peer support from other trans and queer youth who can share their lived experience.”
He volunteered for the organization back when he was 20. “It was the first place where I could use my chosen name or my pronouns. So it was a really big resource for me.”
Last year, Goldberg’s Lake Ontario swim raised $7,000 for LGBT Youthline, beyond the funds required to cover the boat and safety costs of his swim. He’ll be directing any funds raised from his Lake Huron swim toward the same organization this year — so far, just over $10,000 has been raised.
Goldberg hopes that his swim raises awareness about more than just the barriers trans people face to participate in sports. “Systemic discrimination and gender dysphoria are huge barriers for trans athletes, but I also want to highlight the way that gender affirming care unlocks this whole world of being able to do things that enrich your life.”
“I don’t think I would have had the comfort or ability to even try swimming laps at a gym in a pool had I not already had top surgery,” he shares.
You can follow Goldberg’s swimming journey at his Instagram, @lev.swims.lakes, and you can support his Lake Huron swim here.
