色色啦

Dubbed the 51-kilometre Trans Visibility swim, 色色啦 resident听, 29, started swimming from Niagara-on-the-Lake early Tuesday morning听and will finish at Marilyn Bell Park or Leslie Street Spit, depending on currents, about 2 a.m. Wednesday. He will make history as the first openly trans athlete to attempt the crossing.

鲍辫诲补迟别:听“They are stuck in a current, right now. Lev knows he has to push harder in the next hour to get through,” said his sister Elyse Goldberg at 10 p.m., in an update to the Star.听

Goldberg’s team said at about 9 p.m. Tuesday that he is now expected to arrive at Marilyn Bell Park between 11 p.m and midnight听鈥� three to four hours quicker than his original calculation that projected he would be swimming until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. Wednesday.听

In less than听14 hours, Goldberg was already more than halfway across the lake en route to 色色啦. “The river flow current helps at the start of the swim,” his team said in a post on Instagram.听

To limit the time he is exposed to sun, Goldberg started his swim at night, meaning he will be swimming through a sunrise and sunset on the lake. A video posted by his team on his Instagram account shows Goldberg swimming a steady pace towards an orange streak in the sky; sunrise.听

While it is still too early to call, his support crew estimates he will arrive in 色色啦 earlier than anticipated.

As of mid afternoon, “Lev is in really good spirits,” according to his swim master who is on board his support boat.

One of the pacers听鈥� the people swimming in front of or beside Goldberg 鈥� said he is doing really well, according to his sister Elyse, who is managing media requests and his social media during the swim.

“I wish he could see all the people adding emoji’s and encouraging him,” said Elyse, “his social media has been blowing up today.”

He started in baby swim classes but by the time he was in his preteens he was struggling to find swimwear he felt comfortable in and he stopped swimming. While avoiding public pools for safety and comfort, he fell in love with lake swimming. But it wasn’t until years later, when he was able to finally gain access to gender-affirming health care and had top surgery that he really felt he was able to start dreaming of swimming again, he said.听

Goldberg, who has competed in open water race events and is a marathon runner, prepared for the lake crossing by training for 20 weeks, including swimming for 200 hours.听

In order to qualify to attempt the swim, sanctioned by the provincial body , Goldberg needed to first demonstrate he was up to the task by completing a 16-kilometre swim in less than six hours and 15 minutes.

“I was worried about the cut-off, but I got it in six hours, no problem,” said Goldberg.

According to Solo Swims Ontario, other than three recent crossings, still to be ratified by the organization, only 63 people have successfully swum the route from Niagara-on-the-Lake to 色色啦 across Lake Ontario. In the deepest parts, it’s 244 metres deep. For perspective, that’s the distance of more than two football fields, and it’s what Goldberg will be staring down at, swimming front crawl. While crossing, the temperature of the lake will hover somewhere between 12 C and 22 C.

“The greatest risk to my health is actually sunburn,” said Goldberg, who will use zinc cream听鈥� a strong baby diaper rash cream听鈥� slathered on his body to help ensure he has enough applied before he enters the water for the duration of his swim.

According to rules听of the regulated open water swim, Goldberg cannot use any swim fins, swim paddles, or any dry or wet suit. He would be disqualified if at any point during his swim, he was touched by or touches another person until he reaches the other side of the lake, with his ankles out of the water, walking by himself.

Winds across the lake can create waves over five metres high听鈥� which is why Goldberg has a support crew in a boat along with a nurse in case of emergency and pacers听鈥� people who will take turns swimming alongside him during the day. But once night falls, rules state he must swim alone.

Fuelling the swim

To keep up enough strength throughout the journey, Goldberg, will need to eat every 30-40 minutes while treading water听鈥� he will eat roughly 50 times on the crossing, and not knowing what he will be willing or able to stomach along the way, he’s packing much more than that.

So what do you eat when you’re swimming across a lake?

• Boiled mini salty potatoes: Goldberg said he is bringing them in case he needs something savoury to offset all the sweet food he is eating
• Vegan marshmallows:听“If I eat four of these little marshmallows it’s 48 grams of carbs which is massive so that’s great,” said Goldberg
• Dates covered in almond butter
• Vegan sushi
• Banana and blueberry baby food pouches that are high in carbs: “They go down very easy,” said Goldberg
• Sports gels
• A high in protein,听homemade oatmeal blend made with his dietitian; instant oatmeal packages, canned peaches that are pureed, protein powder and maltodextrin for extra carbs听
• Apple juice

Underwater tunes

While swimming long distances or in darkness, “time does go kind of differently,” said Goldberg.

“I save the singing for when I need it,” he said.

His biggest one right now is “Carry On” by Martha Walsh.

“It’s very very powerful and I like the parts about not sleeping,” he said.

Here are his other听go-to’s for helping pass the time while he swims.

• “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel
• “Wave of Mutilation” by The Pixies
• “All Star” by Smash Mouth
• “Dark Days” by 色色啦 Punk band, Pup
• Songs from Mamma Mia: “I Have a Dream” and “Thank You for the Music” sung by Amanda Seyfried
• “Don’t Rain on My Parade” the original from Funny Girl Soundtrack, sung by Barbra Streisand
• Charli XCX: “Crash” “Vroom Vroom” “Trophy” “Hot Girl” “Speed Drive”听

While training and during his crossing, Goldberg is raising funds for the .听So far he has collected nearly $3,000听for the organization that provides anonymous support to queer and trans youth. To Goldberg, that means no matter what happens with his swim 鈥渢here is already a win to celebrate.鈥�

Watch in听real time as Goldberg swims wearing live, on Instagram听.

Correction - Sept. 3, 2025

This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled “Mamma Mia.”