Berkeley teen raises funds to fight cancer with daring open water swims
Maya Merhige is the youngest person to swim the Catalina Channel, which was one third of her completion of the "Open Water Triple Crown" of swimming the English Channel, the Catalina Channel and the circumnavigation of Manhattan known as the 20 Bridges Swim.
Most recently, she embarked on an arduous swim off the coast of New Zealand where the distance she covered was only half the battle.
With each stroke, Merhige swims with purpose.
"The entire time I was in the water – in those really, really hard parts – what I repeated to myself was, 'If these kids can go through radiation and chemotherapy and cancer treatment then I can swim for another 10 strokes or ten minutes,'" she explained.
The Berkeley senior has traveled the globe supporting
Swim Across America
and
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals
.
Her latest swim was across the Cook Straight in New Zealand. One of the world's most challenging open water swims, Merhige planned to swim the 14 miles straight across.
The weather knocked her a bit off course
We started just east of Torey Channel. I ended up swimming 27 miles, she said. So I went all the way west and then came all the way back east and back around just because the currents were pushing me
The wind and currents weren't the only thing working against Merhige.
"Pretty much the minute I got in the water, I started getting stung," she said.
The jellyfish were relentless. Merhige said by the time she was done, she had more than 100 jellyfish stings.
"I was getting stung all over my body the whole time," Merhige said.
Marathon swim rules mean she was in the water without a wetsuit.
"That physically, of course, was challenging. But mentally for me [it] was a lot worse," said Merhige. "My biggest fear above everything even on land is jellyfish. So going into I was like, 'This is just a really intense form for exposure therapy.'"
Despite the wind, and the jellyfish, Merhige made it across. And she made big money to support Benioff Children's Hospitals
"I just found out that in the 14 hours I was in the water, we raised $33,000. Which is incredible and I'm really really excited about that," she said.
Merhige did her first fundraising swim when she was nine years old in San Francisco Bay. Since then, she's raised more than $125,000 for cancer charities.
"Knowing I am doing this for something bigger than me is by far my biggest motivation," said Merhige.
As for future plans, she already has set her sights on swimming the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco.
But before that, she has a school function to attend.
"I'm still dealing with the jellyfish. I'm a senior in high school, so my one goal is to make sure I don't have anything insane happening with prom," she said. "But I'm feeling good. It's starting to get better.
Merhige got back home to Berkeley Tuesday in time for this weekend's prom. After graduation, she says she plans to go to college on the east coast.
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