Maya Merhige, a 16-year-old marathon swimmer has successfully conquered the English Channel making her one of the youngest swimmers in history to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
Merhige swam the English Channel (20.5 miles or 33 km) 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.
“I’m so grateful and excited to have successfully swum the English Channel and completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming,” Maya Merhige said. “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 been able to raise 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’m also going to be a senior in high school this fall and next year will look very different for me as I will leave home to start college. So this was the year to swim the English Channel!”
She built her way 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, she broke the record as the youngest woman in history to successfully swim the 20-mile Catalina Channel, finishing in 10 hours and 48 minutes. In 2023, at 15, She was one of the youngest swimmers to successfully complete the 28.5-mile 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan, 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!”
Merhige 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 hours and 33 minutes. She also holds a record for the longest duration and joined the ranks of the “24-Hour Club” with the 108th longest non-stop open water swim in history.
Merhige’s own medical challenges began in March 2023, when after suffering a ski crash, a benign tumor on her pancreas was discovered.
“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,” Maya Merhige said. “The past six weeks, after being in the hospital for 10 nights in May, I really had to kick my training into gear. There were points while I was swimming 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.
“The English Channel was cold and the current was really strong. Whenever I stopped swimming to feed, I could feel myself getting pulled backwards. I knew I had to keep swimming hard, no matter how exhausted I was, in order to get past the tidal current and land on the French shore at Cap Gris Nez. But I made it!”
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 family friend and three-time cancer survivor Susan Helmrich. The San Francisco swim raises funds for pediatric cancer research.
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 raise 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 own health challenges. For that, I am forever grateful and inspired to raise even more for Swim Across America and UCSF through my swimming,” Maya Merhige said. “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 back in England cheering me on. 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!”
She also plans to participate in the Swim Across America – San Francisco open water swim on October 5, 2024, swimming with her team Chasing Channels, made up 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.”
