The Berkeley, California, resident is one of the youngest swimmers to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
DOVER, England, July 15, 2024 – Maya Merhige has done it again! The 16-year-old marathon swimmer has just successfully conquered the English Channel (20.5 miles or 33 km), making her one of the youngest swimmers in history to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which includes the English Channel, Catalina Channel, and Manhattan 20 Bridges swims. Maya swam the English Channel in just 11 hours and 39 minutes on July 13, 2024. She undertook the iconic English Channel swim and her other marathon swims to make waves to fight cancer and raise funds for the nonprofit Swim Across America, which funds innovative cancer treatments and clinical trials.
16-year-old Maya Merhige is all smiles after completing an 11-hour and 39-minute swim across the English Channel on Saturday, July 13, 2024, earning her the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming (English Channel, Catalina Channel, and 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan). Photo credit Kelly Gentry for Swim Across America.
Maya earned her stripes toward the Triple Crown and broke swimming records in the past by completing the Catalina Channel and Manhattan 20 Bridges swims. In September 2021, at 14 years old, Maya was the youngest woman in history to successfully swim the 20-mile Catalina Channel, finishing in 10 hours and 48 minutes. In 2023, at 15 years old, Maya was one of the youngest swimmers to successfully complete the 28.5-mile 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan Island, which took her 8 hours and 43 minutes.
“We are beyond proud of Maya and her determination and grit to swim these swims,” said Maya’s mom, Liz Tung. “We never imagined Maya, who was just nine years old when she swam her first Swim Across America – San Francisco open water swim, would find such a passion for open water swimming and take her swimming so far. Earning the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming at just 16 years old is just incredible! We are thrilled for her!”
Maya also holds the world record as the youngest woman to swim the 21-mile length, 12-mile width, and 10.8-mile Vikingsholm courses of Lake Tahoe, earning her the Tahoe Triple Crown. She also became the youngest swimmer in the world to successfully swim the grueling 26-mile Kaiwi Molokai Channel between the Hawaiian Islands of Molokai and Oahu, which she completed in 27 hrs and 33 mins. She also holds a record for the longest duration and joined the “24-Hour Club” ranks with history’s 108th longest non-stop open water swim.
“I’m so grateful and excited to have successfully swum the English Channel and completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming,” said Maya. “Swimming the English Channel this year was a big goal of mine for many reasons. This year marks my ninth year participating with Swim Across America. With the generous support of family, friends, and others, I have raised an incredible $100,000 to fight cancer, which has gone directly to the Swim Across America San Francisco beneficiary UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. This past year, I’ve also endured some health battles of my own, and my personal experience has made me even more inspired and passionate about supporting cancer research and treatments at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. I will also be a senior in high school this fall, and next year will look very different for me as I leave home to start college. So this was the year to swim the English Channel!”
Maya’s medical challenges began in March 2023, when, after suffering a ski crash, a benign tumor on her pancreas was discovered. Suffering from chronic pain, surgeries, and hospitalizations, she has a newfound empathy for pediatric cancer patients who endure endless procedures and appointments. Despite these challenges, Maya remains undeterred.
Maya Merhige and her father, Chris Merhige, on the boat headed back to England after Maya’s successful swim of the English Channel and earning the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming on July 13, 2024. Photo credit: Kelly Gentry for Swim Across America.
“Due to the pain I was experiencing earlier this year, I didn’t get to train as much as I would have liked leading up to the English Channel swim,” noted Maya. “These past six weeks, after being in the hospital for ten nights in May, I had to kick my training into gear. There were points while I was swimming in the Channel where I wanted to give up. I swam through schools of jellyfish and had a lot of stomach pain, but I kept thinking that this doesn’t compare to what kids with cancer face. That helped me find the strength to keep going.”
Continues Maya, “The English Channel was cold, and the current was powerful. I felt myself getting pulled backward whenever I stopped swimming to feed. I knew I had to swim hard, no matter how exhausted, to get past the tidal current and land on the French shore at Cap Gris Nez. But I made it!” After reaching shore and climbing the rocks to dry land, Maya had one of her favorite meals – Chow Mein – waiting for her back on the boat.
“I’m extremely grateful for my family and friends who have supported me in this endeavor. My dad, Chris Merhige, and friend Kelly Gentry, who is also an accomplished English Channel swimmer, were on the boat (the Sea Leopard) as my crew during the swim, along with the boat captain Stuart Gleeson, co-pilot Sean Marsh, and observer Jon Miell. My mom, Liz Tung, sister, Lucy, and extended family were cheering me on in England. A big thank you to all of my friends and supporters who followed my journey and sent words of encouragement that were relayed to me while swimming. I’m exhausted but very, very happy!”
Maya’s swimming journey began at just nine years old with the Swim Across America – San Francisco open water swim when she joined Team Susan Survives!, for her dear family friend and three-time cancer survivor Susan Helmrich. The San Francisco swim raises funds for pediatric cancer research, supporting the work of Dr. Julie Saba and Dr. Robert Goldsby at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, which has been a leader in pediatric cancer research and treatment for decades, significantly increasing cure rates and improving the future for thousands of patients worldwide. UCSF’s advances in treating leukemia and other cancers have contributed to the overall five-year survival rate for childhood cancer rising to nearly 85% today, up from 10% in the 1970s. Despite this progress, childhood cancer is still a challenge and can have lasting effects on patients and their families. UCSF continues to study these long-term consequences. The partnership between Swim Across America and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital is essential for advancing cancer research and care.
Maya is also serving her second year as president of the Swim Across America – San Francisco Junior Advisory Board and her goal has been to raise $35,000 this year with the English Channel swim and the San Francisco swim, which will bring the total she has been able to increase to more than $125,000 for Swim Across America to support cancer research for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.
“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 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 plans to participate in the Swim Across America – San Francisco open water swim on October 5, 2024, with her team, Chasing Channels, comprised of other Swim Across America – San Francisco Junior Advisory Board members and Bay Area youth. One tradition Maya has is to write the names of friends and family members battling cancer on her swim cap. “I am honored to carry the names of friends and family members affected by cancer on my cap,” she added. “I’m going to keep swimming to raise awareness and funds for fighting cancer until we have a cure.”
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To learn more about Maya swimming the English Channel and to make a donation to Swim Across America, visit swimacrossamerica.org/maya.
Swim Across America is a national organization offering open water and pool swims in 24 communities, from Boston Harbor to the Golden Gate Bridge. Founded in 1987, Swim Across America has raised over $100 million in the fight against cancer. Funds raised by Swim Across America and its grants have helped support the research and clinical trials for FDA-approved immunotherapy medicines, including 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. Swim Across America grants support 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 regularly support Swim Across America, 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 who gives hope to those fighting cancer. To learn more, visit swimacrossamerica.org, Facebook @SwimAcrossAmerica, Instagram, and Twitter @SAASwim.
