Record-setting Cornellian to Swim Cayuga for Charity

When Claire de Boer ’84 was growing up in Ithaca, one of her family’s favorite activities was swimming. But it wasn’t about heading down to Cass Park and hopping in the pool. No, this athletic clan had bigger ideas.
Like ducklings, she and her siblings would swim 2 to 3 miles across Cayuga Lake, following parents Tobias and Joan and family friends. De Boer balked at first, declaring the lake “gross” and preferring a pristine pool instead, but over time she grew to love the lake.
She also grew stronger, and swam not only its width, but eventually its 38-mile length. In August 1984, during her senior year at Cornell, de Boer stepped into the water at the lake’s north end, and swam south until she reached Allen H. Treman State Marine Park in Ithaca. Her time of 20 hours, 30 minutes is still the record.

Credit: Alexandra Bayer/Cornell University
Claire de Boer, front, swims with Bridgette Hobart in Cayuga Lake.