“We exist. We persist. And we can achieve extraordinary things.” Social work graduate Lev Goldberg shares insights on his 51km swim across Lake Ontario for trans visibility
Categories: Alumni + Friends
Lev Goldberg adjusts his goggles in Lake Ontario during a training session at Woodbine Beach. Photo by Yaldah Azimi.
On September 3rd, Lev Goldberg (MSW 2020) became the first openly transgender person to swim across Lake Ontario, completing the 51-kilometre journey from Niagara on the Lake to Marilyn Bell Park in 24 hours and 25 minutes. We caught up with the Master of Social Work graduate a few days after his epic swim.
When did you first get the idea to swim across Lake Ontario to raise awareness of transgender visibility?
I swam for two years on the swim team as a child and stopped when I was nine. I now realize a factor in that was gender dysphoria and discomfort in my body. I came back to swimming around age 27, about two years after I had top surgery. It was just for fun, to try something new. I had already been running long distances and knew that very long efforts at sustainable paces are possible.
I then discovered a big open water swimming community and met people there who had swum across Lake Ontario. One is Kim Lumsdon who has swum across Lake Ontario twice and was training in 2023 to do it again and become the oldest woman to cross the lake. I found her so inspiring. I wondered if there were trans people doing this, but I couldn’t find any trans marathon swimmers at all. I knew that if I did it, others like me would see themselves reflected. I think the next trans person to swim across Lake Ontario is probably following this now and that really excites me and makes me so happy.
You are 29 years old now, which means it was just two years ago that you returned to swimming and thought ‘I’m going to do a 24-hour swim across Lake Ontario!’ That’s impressive!
It’s only sunk in how weird it is after the fact. I started swimming in January 2023 and became aware of open water swimming that February. That June, I did my first open water training season and was in a 2.5-kilometer race that August. The next summer I found a coach through a queer and trans swim team, and I built up to a 10-kilometer race. This year was really the big year when it felt like I was not ever finding the point where I was tired or it was too much. It just seemed very doable, like why couldn’t I do it? Why not?
Who supported you in this journey?
First, my coach, Tai Hollingbery. They were the first person who asked me, do you have any big swimming goals? And I was like, yes, I want to swim across Lake Ontario! That really began this journey.
I also definitely couldn’t go through this without my family. My dad was here with me for two weeks, driving me places and helping me. My sister lives in North Carolina and came here for 10 days. She’s managed my social media and helped me reach out to potential sponsors and partners. Numerous friends helped with fundraisers. I had a crew on board the boat that drove beside me during the swim. This included my pacers, who took turns swimming with me. There was also a land crew. It’s such a big undertaking — it takes a village for sure. It required a lot of people to spend a lot of time and effort to be part of it, and I’m very, very grateful.
In addition to increasing trans visibility, you are raising funds for the LGBT youthline. What inspired you to choose this organization?
I was peer support volunteer for them when I was first transitioning. It was such a valuable experience, not only because of the skills I gained, but also because of the other youth volunteers that I met. The organization provided a safe space where I could transition socially, where people would use my name and see me for who I was. LGBT Youthline is valuable from all directions: for the peer support they are providing to youth who need it and for the youth who are giving that support and meeting each other and being part of a community. It was such an important part of my life. It is also just such a fantastic truly justice-oriented organization.
(Visit Goldberg’s GoFundMe page to learn more and donate.)
You’ve shared advice for trans people who would like to get into sports but may feel hesitant. What advice do you have for coaches, teammates or sports administrators who want to be better allies? How can they better support trans youth and adults in sports?
You might not think there’s a trans person in your athletic space or on your team, but you could be wrong about that. There could be someone there who knows they’re trans and are not comfortable being out, or someone who has transitioned and doesn’t feel comfortable sharing that with people. If you want to truly be trans inclusive in your in your space, you need to assume that there are trans people there — or that there should be or will be. Remember also that there are both binary trans people and nonbinary trans people. Not having any option outside male and female is a barrier and can be so harmful.
How does your role as a social worker overlap with your goal to raise trans visibility and resilience as a long-distance swimmer?
My work as a youth and family therapist at Central Toronto Youth Services really connects me with my purpose and what I’m doing. I work almost exclusively with trans youth in their Pride and Prejudice Program and see how hard it is for kids to be experiencing a world that is getting worse for them in many ways. I’ve witnessed people much younger than me go through a lot of suffering and yet show so much resilience.
What’s next for you?
I’ve been so honored and grateful those who stepped up to help me with my crossing. So, I’m going to get my boating license, and I’m hoping to support at least one other person’s crossing next year. Once you’ve done it, you just want to get other people across. I want to help make someone else’s dreams possible.
I like cold water swims, so I’m also training for an ice mile, which is 1.6 kilometers in 5 degrees Celsius or less. I’ll definitely do another marathon swim next year as well. Ultimately, I want to swim all five Great Lakes.
You have done a lot of media interviews. Is there anything about your experience that hasn’t yet been shared?
A lot of people have called the crossing grueling. Grueling means punishing, but I had fun the whole time! I don’t do things that are miserable.
The other word I don’t like is “conquer”. I don’t think anyone conquers a Great Lake. It’s an enormous, majestic powerful force of nature and it is was due to the grace of the lake that I was allowed to cross. Many people work as hard as me, swim better than me and the conditions do not allow them to cross. No one, in my opinion, conquers a force of nature, a body of water. It’s not about that at all.
What insights from your experience would you like to share with a social work audience?
There can be a lot of barriers that prevent trans people from finding the things that make them happy in life. We might come to the things we love later because of that. If you are working with trans youth who don’t have that thing that’s keeping them going, that’s showing them who they are and why they’re here, it may be that they need to get on level ground before they can get there. They might need access to a supportive community or gender affirming care, or experience the self-actualization of transitioning before they’re able to fully step into what makes them who they are. I just want to plant a seed of hope that addressing the basics is an important step in setting someone up to ultimately thrive.
Interested in learning more? Read more media coverage on Lev Goldberg’s historic swim:
Toronto Life: “I became the first openly trans person to swim across Lake Ontario. It was euphoric”
CBC: Trans swimmer Lev Goldberg on preparing for an epic lake-crossing and becoming a trailblazer
Click here to donate to Lev Goldberg’s GoFundMe campaign to support LGBT Youthline