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St. Catharines teen becomes youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario

Trinity Arsenault, 14, successfully swims across Lake Ontario

Shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday, 14-year-old Trinity Arsenault became the youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario from Niagara to Toronto.

The St. Catharines teen completed the 52-kilometre swim in under 24 hours.

"It takes a very unique young person to have the skills to do this and Trinity has those skills," open water world-record holder Vicki Keith said of Trinity's record-breaking swim.

Marilyn Bell, who in 1954 became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario, called Trinity to congratulate her shortly after she reached the shore:

"She said I remind her of a young her with a dream and that she hopes we become good friends," Trinity said after the call. "I can’t believe Marilyn Bell just said that to me."

Trinity's mother, Christine Arsenault, completed the same 52-kilometre swim in August 2011. Christine and Trinity are now the only mother-daughter duo to do so.

"My swim was nothing like what this girl just did," Christine, who accompanied her daughter in a boat, told CTV.

"She's worked really hard to give us the opportunities we have," Trinity said of her mother, a single parent, in May. "I want to be able to help other kids enjoy the sports and activities they love."

Trinity was inspired by her mother's swim, and trained for two years to accomplish the same feat.

"It is who they are, it's what they love to do and this is now a family legend for them," proud grandmother, Deborah Arsenault, told the Toronto Sun.

Trinity broke the record previously held by Annaleise Carr, who swam the same route at 14 years and 158 days old in 2012. Trinity was 14 years and 70 days old when she completed her swim.

Trinity hoped to raise $10,000 for Canadian Tire's Jumpstart program.

Today, the teen is recovering from her journey:

"Good morning everyone! We are recovering from an incredible journey across Lake Ontario with Trinity. She is sore today and resting! Thank you all for your support and kind words. We had a amazing crew who worked hour after hour ... such an incredible team," her team posted on Facebook.