Read or watch local stories featuring the Swim Across America-Long Island Sound community to learn about their impact. Learn more about the event and beneficiaries, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University Cancer Center, Cancer Support Team, and Weill Cornell Medical Center, at swimacrossamerica.org/long_island.
Read or watch local stories featuring the Swim Across America-Nantucket community to learn about their impact. Learn more about the event and beneficiaries, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket, and Mass General Cancer Center, at swimacrossamerica.org/nantucket.
Swimming a one-mile open water swim is challenging, but swimming a one-mile open water swim with cancer is nothing short of remarkable. David Lemley is one of those remarkable people.
David, with his wife, Janie, swam at the 2024 SAA-Seattle open water swim, while fighting plasma cell leukemia.
David, 65, first participated in Swim Across America – Seattle in 2021 supporting his wife, Janie’s, team “InMemory”, named for the loved ones she lost to cancer. Over the years, their team has raised more than $8,000. It wasn’t until this year that David’s understanding of cancer became very personal.
“Last year, I really struggled to finish the swim,” said David. “The reason being, unbeknownst to us at the time, that I was fighting plasma cell leukemia, a very rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.”
This may seem like a rare occurrence, but often Swim Across America participants become fighters of their own cancer battles, giving their involvement a new meaning and a sense of urgency.
“Swim Across America is extremely important to help fund urgent and necessary research in order to help more people become cancer survivors. SAA gives hope to those, like myself, who are fighting the cancer battle right now,” shared David.
David’s stem cells were harvested at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the beneficiary of the SAA-Seattle swim.
Swim Across America’s guiding principle is that money raised local stays in each community. In Seattle, all proceeds from community events support immunotherapy clinical trials and cancer research at Fred Hutch Cancer Center.
Participants that fundraise know that the funds they raise will support their community to help people they may know, or in David’s case, his own treatment. Despite being a fundraiser year after year, David never imagined he would become a direct recipient of the treatment himself and hundreds of other swimmers help support.
After receiving his diagnosis in November 2024, David was thrown into a new world of hospital visits and chemotherapy treatment. As he prepared for his double stem cell transplant at the VA Medical Center near his hometown, David had his first visit to Fred Hutch Cancer Center (FHCC).
“I was at the VA for 13 days and then headed to Fred Hutch for the incredible procedure of Apheresis, where they harvest 17 million of my stem cells. Janie and I wore our Swim Across America t-shirts to commemorate this very special day,” said David.
David and Janie proudly wore their Swim Across America shirts during David’s stay at FHCC.
“On Monday, May 5th, I celebrated my new ‘birthday’ with the first transplant of approx. 8.5 million of my own stem cells,” said David.
After 16 days in the hospital following the procedure, David was released to go home to rest and recover before his second stem cell procedure on June 9.
For the Lemley family, participating in this year’s SAA-Seattle has a deeper meaning.
“Now, more than ever, we are committed to raising money for our amazing Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center!” said David.
If you’re inspired to support David and Team InMemory, give here.
Shep Jennings is proving that even the youngest swimmers can Make Waves to Fight Cancer! The Darien, Connecticut resident will swim at the 2025 Swim Across America – Fairfield County open water swim on June 21.
Shep Jennings
Shep, who swims year-round with the Darien YMCA Piranhas and in summer with Shorehaven Golf Club, first dove into the charity swim event last year when his swim buddy Jedd Gallagher asked Shep to join the Blue Wave Swim Team, which was participating in the annual Swim Across America – Fairfield County open water swim. The Blue Wave Swim Team was coached by longtime Swim Across America supporter Marj Trifone.
Last summer was the start of a fulfilling experience for Shep, who raised more than $2,000 for the nonprofit in 2024. Seeing his name on the leaderboard last year was inspiring to know he was making a difference.
“I love seeing my name climb the leaderboard, because every dollar means scientists get closer to cures,” said Shep.
The Jennings family
Inspired by watching his parents raise money for ALS research after his grandmother was impacted by the disease, Shep already had the know-how of fundraising down. For Swim Across America, he began emailing friends and family and even going door-to-door in his neighborhood to collect pledges.
Shep, who will turn 12 in September and enter Middlesex Middle School in the fall, acknowledges his favorite summer sports are all about water: swimming, water polo and water-skiing on summer weekends, in the winter, he swaps liquid water for frozen water with snow-skiing. At home he shares the spotlight with his nine-year-old sister, Emmaline, and the family’s golden retriever, Rosie. With just a few weeks left until the big SAA – Fairfield County open water swim, Shep isn’t easing up on his fundraising pace.
Shep, far right, and a few of his teammates
“I’m still reaching out,” he said. “I want my total and the funds for cancer-fighting research to keep growing.” To date, Shep is the number one individual fundraiser already raising $6,080.
Berkeley, California Resident is one of the Youngest in History to Complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and Has Raised More than $125,000 for Cancer Research through Swim Across America
Maya Merhige a 17-year-old marathon swimmer from Berkeley, California, on March 14, 2025, successfully swam New Zealand’s Cook Strait, a 22 km (13.67 mile) body of water and one of the world’s most challenging open water swims. This latest achievement for Merhige comes just eight months after she successfully swam the English Channel in July 2024, becoming one of the youngest swimmers in the world to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. The completion of the Cook Strait makes this her tenth marathon swim — all which have been done to raise funds for cancer research with the nonprofit Swim Across America. Throughout her years of swimming and making waves to fight cancer, Maya has raised an incredible $125,000!
Maya Merhige, third from left, with her support crew after Maya completed the Cook Strait swim.
Merhige completed the Cook Strait swim in 14 hours, eight minutes and 36 seconds. At 17, she joined the ranks of one of the youngest swimmers to successfully conquer this formidable strait. Accompanying Merhige on this journey and on her support boat was her father Chris Merhige, her official timekeeper, friend and open water coach Kelly Gentry, and her godparents Geoff Tennican and Jen Durning, who have been steadfast supporters of Maya’s and who have donated more than $18,000 to her cause to make waves to fight cancer for the nonprofit Swim Across America, the beneficiary of Maya’s swims. Their presence on the support boat provided invaluable encouragement throughout the swim and helped keep Maya going by relaying uplighting and inspiring messages from Maya’s family and friends all around the world who were following her progress.
The Cook Strait is known for its rough and unpredictable water, high winds and abundant marine life. Situated between the North and South islands of New Zealand, the Cook Strait connects the Tasman Sea with the South Pacific Ocean. Both shores are lined with steep cliffs which can create a wind tunnel effect. The strong gusts of wind and tidal flows make it one of the roughest and most unpredictable stretches of water in the world. The challenging conditions have attracted numerous swimmers, many of whom have failed to make the crossing and several who have succeeded.
The water in the Cook Strait during Maya’s swim was a bit rough with 15-to-25 knot winds and 1 metre swells and the water was a chilly 60 degrees with the air temp only 59 degrees fahrenheit. According to marathon swimming rules, Maya swims with only a bathing suit, swim cap and goggles. “This was one of the gutsiest swims I’ve ever seen, and was according to some folks on the boat too,” noted Maya’s father Chris Merhige, who was on the support boat traveling alongside Maya during her swim.
“Swimming the Cook Strait was a hard, but incredible experience,” Maya Merhige said. “The jellyfish stings, unpredictable currents and wind presented unique challenges, but knowing that my efforts contribute to cancer research kept me motivated. Having my godparents by my side meant the world to me—they have been some of my strongest supporters, always believing in me and helping to make these swims possible.”
Completing the Cook Strait brings Merhige closer to completing the Ocean’s Seven Swims – the most challenging open water swims in the world. Since 2020, she has completed the Catalina Channel, Molokai Channel, English Channel and Cook Strait – with still to come the North Channel, Tsugaru Strait and Strait of Gibraltar.
Maya and Swim Across America – San Francisco co-event director, Jackie NeJaime
Merhige’s previous accomplishments include becoming the youngest woman to swim the 20-mile Catalina Channel at just 14 years old, completing the 28.5-mile Manhattan 20 Bridges swim at 15, and crossing the English Channel at 16, earning her the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
Merhige’s commitment to open water swimming began at age nine when she joined her first Swim Across America – San Francisco open water swim, where she swam with Team Susan Survives! in honor of a family friend and three-time cancer survivor, Susan Helmrich. Since then, she has participated in the annual swim, raising more than $125,000 for pediatric cancer research with Swim Across America – San Francisco’s local beneficiary UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.
While raising funds for cancer research and new treatments in support of friends and family members battling cancer has been her inspiration for swimming, writing their names on her swim cap to bring them on the journey with her, Maya has had her own personal health challenges, including discovering a benign pancreatic tumor in 2023 after a ski accident. She has had some ongoing health challenges stemming from the issue and has had her own hospital stays and surgeries, which have only deepened her empathy for cancer patients and strengthened her resolve to support cancer research and help fund new and better treatments.
This fall, Merhige will be starting her freshman year at college, but still hopes to participate in the annual Swim Across America – San Francisco open water swim on September 21, 2025, marking her ninth year swimming in the event. To learn more about Merhige’s amazing swimming accomplishments and to support her fundraising efforts, visitswimacrossamerica.org/maya.
Founded in 1987, Swim Across America has raised more than $100 million to fight cancer. In its 38 years of making waves, thousands of swimmers and Olympians have swum the circumference of the earth three times uniting a movement to fight cancer that has created a groundswell of support spanning all generations. Today, more than 24 communities across the U.S. hold charity swims each year, which support innovative cancer research, detection and patient programs. Swim Across America’s grants have helped support the research and clinical trials for FDA approved immunotherapy medicines: Keytruda, Opdivo, Yervoy, and Tecentriq. Swim Across America is also a grant funder of the successful clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine and showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline. Swim Across America awards grant to more than 60 projects each year and there are ten named Swim Across America Labs at major institutions.
More than 150 Olympians and marathon swimmers support Swim Across America on a regular basis, including Kate Douglass, Michael Phelps, Craig Beardsley, Elizabeth Beisel, Missy Franklin, Ryan Held, Gretchen Walsh, Donna de Varona, Rowdy Gaines, Janel Jorgensen McArdle, Bobby Hackett, Ryan Lochte, Glenn Mills, Cristina Teuscher and many more.
Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) raises money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of volunteers, and Olympians, Swim Across America is an innovator and leader in giving hope to those fighting cancer. To learn more visit swimacrossamerica.org, Facebook @SwimAcrossAmerica, and Instagram @SAASwim.
Most Swim Across America participants wear their SAA swag with a sense of pride of making an impact in their community. For Natalie Thompson and her family in Nantucket, Massachusetts, it’s more than just an event — it’s a way of life.
“Swim Across America – Nantucket gear is a badge of honor on this island. We swim for the people we see everyday — our neighbors, our friends, and our family — so we can make their fight easier,” said Natalie.
Natalie Thompson, her wife Cassie, and their two sons at a Swim Across America – Nantucket event.
Swim Across America – Nantucket gives grants to on-island cancer treatment and care at Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket. It also supports glioblastoma research at Mass General Cancer Center in Boston. The unique offering of on-island care allows patients fighting the toughest battle to remain close to home while receiving outstanding treatment.
When it comes to SAA gear, Natalie and her family have plenty. Since 2012, she has participated in the event — in every and any capacity — alongside her wife, Cassie, and their two sons.
“I’ve been part of the setup crew, the breakdown crew, an angel swimmer, a 4-miler… whatever I can do, I do,” said Natalie. “My wife has always volunteered, and now she runs the Falmouth Road Race to support our swim. SAA is just part of our lives. We do it as a team to support our amazing community.”
Natalie first joined SAA-Nantucket to honor her grandmother, who fought breast cancer. As the years went by and Natalie remained involved, cancer would hit close to home not once, but twice more.
“June 2019 changed why I swim for the rest of my life. My wife was diagnosed with ocular melanoma at 33. We had two young boys at the time, and suddenly, we were facing cancer head-on,” she shared.
Natalie swims the 4-mile course while her wife, Cassie, kayaks beside her.
“Eight hours after she was diagnosed we attended a Swim Across America event and I knew we had a support system like no other. No one at the event knew that night of her diagnosis but I left having hope that we would make it through it all. This was the first summer I participated in the 4 mile swim and it was even more impactful having my wife as my kayaker.”
Less than a year later, Natalie’s family was hit with more devastating news.
“In March 2020, our world was rocked again. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer,” Natalie said.
“As soon as I heard the news, Jill Roethke and Jim Pignato, SAA-Nantucket co-event directors, were my first call. The world was shutting down due to COVID, and my dad needed tests to begin treatment. They got me connected to the right people, and in that moment, I knew our family had endless support from our Swim Across America family.”
For as long as SAA-Nantucket is around, Natalie and her family will be there, supporting the mission and their community — a value she’s proud to pass on to her sons.
Natalie and her boys love to match in SAA gear!
“SAA’s impact on the Nantucket community as a whole means that no one fights their cancer battle alone. We are a community on a little island ensuring that cancer patients spend their invaluable time with their families and friends instead of countless hours traveling for treatment elsewhere.”
“My kids have grown up attending the event, and it’s incredible to teach them about this special support system. They know I swim for their grampie and mom. It’s a special moment every year when I finish the 4-mile swim to have my kids see me finish.”
If you’re inspired to support Natalie and Team Thompson, give here.
Read or watch local stories featuring the Swim Across America-San Francisco community to learn about their impact. Learn more about the event and beneficiary, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals (Oakland and San Francisco), at swimacrossamerica.org/sanfrancisco.
Swim Across America – San Francisco participant, Maya Merhige, successfully completed the English Channel swim in July 2024. Maya is a top fundraiser for SAA-SF, a member of the Junior Advisory Board, and a high school junior in the Bay Area. To read media highlights from Maya’s historic swims, click here.
250 Swimmers and Volunteers will Dive in at Exciting New Location to Raise Funds for the Swim’s Beneficiary MD Anderson Cancer Center
Swim Across America, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising funds for cancer research through swimming events, is thrilled to announce the 6th annual Swim Across America – Houston open water swim on Saturday, October 5, 2024. This year’s swim will take place at a new location, the popular Margaritaville Lake Conroe in Montgomery, Texas, which also hosted an earlier pool swim in May. Swimmers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to participate, choosing between a 1/2-mile, 1-mile, or 2-mile swim to support vital cancer research and clinical trials at Swim Across America – Houston’s local beneficiary, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Swimmers and volunteers can register at swimacrossamerica.org/houston or those who wish to donate can do so as well.
Since its founding in 2019, Swim Across America – Houston has raised more than $340,000 for MD Anderson Cancer Center. Each year, the event brings together more than 250 swimmers, volunteers, Olympians, and supporters who join forces to make waves in the fight against cancer.
One of the swim’s most inspiring participants is Rob McLaren, the top fundraiser and leader of the “Shell Smashes Cancer” team. Rob recently completed the impressive 12-mile width of Lake Tahoe in just a speedo, raising funds for MD Anderson to improve treatments for Glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer with a challenging 25% five-year survival rate.
“We hope and pray that MD Anderson can develop an immunotherapy to preclude the use of harsh, less effective treatments such as chemo,” said Rob, who had set a goal to raise $12,000 — or $1,000 for every mile he swam in the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe. To date, Rob has raised an amazing $17,229 this year alone, and has consistently been the top fundraiser in previous years of Swim Across America – Houston events, raising a total of $160,700 throughout the years.
In addition to swimming at the 2024 SAA-Houston open water swim in October, Rob McLaren completed the Lake Tahoe (12-mile width) open water swim.
“One supporter said he would pay $1,000 for my final 12th mile of the Lake Tahoe swim,” said Rob. “That helped me be especially motivated to complete the swim to enforce his side of the deal!”
In addition to his fundraising efforts, Rob has accomplished the extraordinary feat of swimming in all 24 Swim Across America open water swims nationwide between 2021 and 2023, a testament to his dedication to the cause.
“We are excited this year to bring Swim Across America – Houston to Margaritaville Lake Conroe and continue raising crucial funds for cancer research at MD Anderson,” said Rob McLaren, who is also one of the co-event directors this year of the swim. “The passion and commitment of our swimmers, volunteers, and supporters truly make a difference in the lives of those impacted by cancer.”
Local SF-Bay Area Teen and Marathon Swimmer Maya Merhige Joins Hundreds to Make Waves to Fight Cancer for the Swim’s Local Beneficiary UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals
The 19th annual Swim Across America – San Francisco Bay open water swim will take place on Saturday, October 5, 2024, with swimmers, Olympians, volunteers, and supporters all making waves in the fight against cancer. This year’s 1.5-mile point-to-point swim begins at Little Marina Green and finishes in Aquatic Park in San Francisco. The event is expected to raise close to $400,000 for innovative cancer research and patient care at Swim Across America – San Francisco Bay’s local beneficiaries UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, with proceeds supporting the Oakland Research Institute and the Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. To date, the swim has raised more than $5.5 million for UCSF. Swimmers and land and water volunteers can register at swimacrossamerica.org/sanfrancisco, as well as donate.
One of the standout participants in this year’s swim is 17-year-old Maya Merhige of Berkeley, California, who has participated in the Swim Across America – San Francisco Bay swim for the past nine years. Maya is also a marathon swimmer and recently became one of the youngest athletes in history to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming by successfully swimming the English Channel in July 2024.
17-year-old marathon swimmer, Maya Merhige, recently completed the English Channel swim earning her to coveted Triple Crown.
She joins an elite group of swimmers who have conquered the English Channel, Catalina Channel, and Manhattan 20 Bridges Swim. Maya’s accomplishments extend beyond the Triple Crown: she holds world records as the youngest woman to swim the Catalina Channel and all three major courses of Lake Tahoe, and she is the youngest person to complete the grueling 26-mile Kaiwi Molokai Channel between Molokai and Oahu in 27 hours and 33 minutes, joining the prestigious “24-Hour Club,” with one of the longest non-stop open water swims in history.
Maya’s inspiration to swim to make waves to fight cancer stems from first swimming for her family friend Susan Helmrich, a three-time cancer survivor who recently marked 47 years after being first diagnosed with cancer at the young age of 21. Susan, now 69 years-old, has swum in the Swim Across America – San Francisco Bay open water swim for 17 out of the 19 years and has raised more than a million dollars with her “Team Susan Survives!”
Maya has also faced health challenges of her own. In March 2023, after a ski crash, doctors discovered a benign tumor on her pancreas. Despite multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, and chronic pain, Maya continued to train and swim, demonstrating extraordinary resilience. Her own health battles have deepened her empathy for pediatric cancer patients and strengthened her commitment to raising funds for cancer research.
“I’d especially like to thank Dr. Julie Saba, director of the Swim Across America Research Lab at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, for her continued support throughout my own health challenges. For that, I am forever grateful and inspired to raise even more for Swim Across America and UCSF through my swimming,” noted Maya.
Maya also noted that she is grateful and excited to have completed the English Channel this year. “It’s been an honor to raise more than $120,000 to support UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, and I plan to continue raising awareness and funds for cancer research. Swimming has given me so much, and I want to give back in every way I can.”
In addition to her remarkable swimming feats, Maya serves as the president of the Swim Across America – San Francisco Junior Advisory Board, inspiring other young swimmers to join the cause. Her dedication, both in the water and in her leadership role, has been an inspiration to other teens and adults alike. This year, Maya will be swimming on October 5 with her team, “Chasing Channels,” alongside other Junior Advisory Board members. She also carries on a meaningful tradition of writing the names of friends and family battling cancer on her swim cap — a personal tribute that fuels her resolve.
“We are so proud of Maya’s passion and determination,” said Liz Tung, Maya’s mother. “Her commitment to Swim Across America and raising funds for cancer research is truly inspiring, and we’re excited to see her continue to make an impact.”
In 2024, Julia Brookshire made the leap from pharmaceutical sales rep to Swim Across America National Safety Director signifying a full circle journey. She also celebrated being in deep remission from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. To ensure she didn’t “waste her cancer,” she set out to raise money for Swim Across America through an SAA My Way challenge and a historic cross-continental swim with SwimTrek. Read Julia’s story here and find media highlights below.
Swim Across America 