Merhige is one of the youngest in history to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, and she has raised more than $125,000 for Cancer Research through Swim Across America.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 14, 2025 – Maya Merhige, a 17-year-old marathon swimmer from Berkeley, California, 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 of 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!
Courtesy Chris Merhige
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 conquer this formidable strait successfully. Accompanying Merhige on this journey and her support boat were 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 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. It helped keep Maya going by relaying uplighting and inspiring messages from Maya’s family and friends worldwide 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 cliffs which can create a wind tunnel effect. The strong gusts of wind and tidal flows make it one of the world’s roughest and most unpredictable stretches of water. The challenging conditions have attracted numerous swimmers, many of whom have failed to make the crossing and several who have succeeded.
During Maya’s swim, the water in the Cook Strait 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.
Maya Merhige: Swimming the Cook Strait was a challenging but incredible experience. The jellyfish stings, unpredictable currents, and wind presented unique challenges, but knowing that my efforts contributed 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 achieving the Ocean’s Seven Swims—the most challenging open-water swims in the world. Since 2020, Maya has completed the Catalina Channel, Molokai Channel, English Channel, and Cook Strait—with the North Channel, Tsugaru Strait, and Gibraltar still coming.
Merhige’s previous accomplishments include becoming the youngest woman to swim the 20-mile Catalina Channel at 14, 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.
Maya before the swim, photo courtesy Jenifer Howard
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 over $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. She has had her 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 start her freshman year at college. However, she 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 impressive swimming accomplishments and to support her fundraising efforts, visit swimacrossamerica.org/maya.
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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, and Instagram @SAASwim.le
Since 1987, Swim Across America raised over $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 grants 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 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.
