A Summer Swim Across The LI Sound Makes Ripples To Last A Lifetime

LARCHMONT, NY — The crowd reaction to athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics is nothing compared to the glee of friends and families greeting swimmers as they reached the beach at the Larchmont Shore Club this weekend.

The traditional ringing of cowbells and enthusiastic cheers of love greeted each swimmer as they reached the sandy finish line.

Some had started their day before the sun came up. Some undertook a swim from Long Island to Westchester County. Other chose one of three different courses starting from the Larchmont Yacht Club. Still others chose to swim laps in the club's Olympic-sized pool.

But, everyone felt like a champion on this sunny Saturday morning. And the biggest winners of all were those battling cancer.

Proceeds of the 32nd Annual Swim Across America - Long Island Sound open water swim support local New York area beneficiaries Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, Cancer Support Team and Weill Cornell Medicine.

In all, more than 800 recreational and amateur swimmers all the way to master swimmers and even Olympic swimmers took to the water on Saturday, but just because the swim was a lot of hard work addressing a serious issue, that doesn't mean it wasn't a celebration and a whole lot of fun.

"I'm a big Giants fan — I haven't missed a game in years, but this is the most exciting sports event I've ever been to," said Ava Carroll, of White Plains, who was there to support her uncle swimming in the 5K race. "I'm afraid I'm going to cheer myself hoarse. Maybe I should buy one of the cowbells."

This year, the number one fundraising team is "Team Gina," which is in loving memory of 32-year-old Gina Mannix Wente, who lost a brief and brutal battle with breast cancer in February.

Gina was pregnant with her second child when she was diagnosed with cancer last December and gave birth to her son on February 1, at 29 weeks. She passed away on February 26. With more than 60 members on Team Gina, the group has raised close to $115,000 in her memory and in support of crucial cancer research.

"Gina and her siblings participated in Swim Across America for many years together swimming in memory of their grandfathers, Charles Roeckell and Richard E. Mannix Sr., and uncle James Lynch,"Gina’s mom, Mary Mannix, said. "It seemed very fitting to continue this tradition in honor and memory of Gina and her legacy, as she lost her brief, but hard-fought battle to breast cancer on February 26, 2024. The love and outpouring of the community for Gina has been amazing. Knowing that her love of swimming could be combined with raising funds for crucial cancer research provides us with a little solace in our sorrow. We are beyond grateful that the community has rallied around us, embracing us, and donating to our cause and support of Swim Across America. We just crossed the $100,000 threshold for fundraising for the swim. I’m hopeful that these funds will help other families not have to go through the loss we have gone through."

In its 31 years, Swim Across America - Long Island Sound has raised more than $25 million dollars, which has gone into funding clinical trials on a national level — and specifically has helped contribute to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy cancer treatments.

Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda were all made possible with support from the organization.

Recently, the very exciting news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment. This clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was also funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America - Long Island Sound.

Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers nationwide and past and current Olympians, Swim Across America is helping find a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. Learn more on the Swim Across America - Long Island Sound website.