TORONTO, Canada — Former Yale University men’s water polo athlete and women’s student coach Sean Nuttall will attempt a 100-km open-water swim for charity.
A former men’s water polo captain (2000-2001) and women’s student coach (1999-2001) at Yale, Nuttall will attempt a two-way crossing of Lake Ontario – from Freedom for Hungary Monument in Budapest Park in Toronto (a landmark of personal significance as his family fled to Toronto from Hungary after the Second World War) to Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie and back – a 100 km roundtrip distance requiring between 35 to 50 hours of continuous swimming.
If successful, it will be the longest unassisted open-water swim in Canada or by a Canadian, and the eighth-longest unassisted swim on record globally. Because it is an unassisted swim, he will not be able to use a wetsuit or other floatation devices.
The swim is to raise money for the University of Toronto’s Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, a world leader in scientific research on debilitating brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lewy Body Dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The Tanz Centre’s researchers are working to transform science’s understanding of these illnesses and are at the forefront of the global effort to prevent, diagnose, control and cure them.
“Having grown up in Toronto, I have a lot of respect for the University of Toronto, the Tanz Centre and what they do,” said Nuttall. “I’m hoping this swim inspires others to dream big while also supporting a wonderful cause. Every little bit helps.”
The cause is personal for Nuttall as his father Robert, a criminal defense lawyer in Toronto, passed away five years ago after an extremely brief struggle with an unidentified neurodegenerative disease. In November 2016, his father successfully completed a complex jury trial. By February 2017, just three months later, he was in emergency care in a psychiatric ward. By May, he had largely lost the ability to talk, and passed away in August as the deterioration was so rapid that physicians were unable to identify his specific neurodegenerative condition.
Donations can be made by CLICKING HERE with a total donation target of $50,000 Canadian.
