Swim Across America 2015

Twenty three years ago, identical twin brothers Josh and Jeremy Glantz were swim coaches at the Larchmont Yacht Club when the mother of three participating children succumbed to brain cancer at the age of forty two. In her honor, they swam across the Long Island Sound to raise funds for cancer research. Their crossing evolved into what has become the largest regional swim event organized by Swim Across America (SAA) with more than 600 swimmers annually and more than $15 million raised since the event started! SAA is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events.

In 2005, Josh formed a team made up of Scarsdale friends and other swim enthusiasts and it has grown steadily over the years. The team annually honors a friend who has been stricken with cancer, or is undergoing treatment and the team rotates captains to encourage greater participation.

This year the team was named in honor of Josh's friend Susan Moody Prieto, a Princeton University collegiate swimmer, endurance swimmer, and founder of Swim4Good, a charity that promotes children's literacy. The mother of two young daughters, Susan was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in August 2014. After being treated with chemotherapy, during which she had many complications, she was declared cancer free in March 2015. She is currently receiving radiation therapy.

Team "Swimming for Susan" has raised more than $70,000 so far for the 2015 event; it has surpassed its fundraising goals each consecutive year. In total, the 2015 Long Island event raised over $1,050,000.

The Long Island Sound event starts off at the Larchmont Yacht Club, and swimmers participate in 2k, 5k and 10k courses. After the swims are completed, SAA welcomes the swimmers ashore and celebrates their athletic and fundraising accomplishments at a ceremonial brunch along the waterfront.

According to Josh, this year's team captain, "Every year our team grows, and we stay motivated. We all know people who have been touched by cancer, and this is a way we honor them – to raise money doing what we love, to help find a cure." Josh was joined by Joe Kaufman and Chip Rich in the 10k distance, which departed from Glen Cove, Long Island and crossed the Sound back to Larchmont. Joel Talish was also supposed to swim the 10k but was unable to swim due to an injury. Participating in the 5K were Peter Doyle, John Needham, Eldad Blaustein, Debra Hyman, Carol Wolfe, Razy Hirschberg swam the 2k. Jennifer Feeley and Lou Dearstyne were also on the team though they don't live in Scarsdale. The 10k swimmers were accompanied by kayakers and Scarsdale residents Caroline and Christopher Shannon and Enoch Palmer.

The team welcomes all who are interested in endurance swimming for a cause. Teammates swim and train at various pools in the Scarsdale area, including the Scarsdale Pool, JCC and Hummocks. For more information, join the team for next year, or to make a donation visit their website.