Scarsdale Residents Swim Across the Sound to Fight Cancer

On Saturday, July 30 582 participants of all ages swam in the 19th annual Long Island Sound Swim, part of Swim Across America's campaign to raise money for cancer research, treatment and support. This is the biggest event for the organization and this year more than $1.2 million dollars was raised.

Among the swimmers were 6 Scarsdale residents who have been training every morning at the Scarsdale Pool. Joel Talish (Greenacres), Joe Kaufman (Fox Meadow) and Josh Glantz (Greenacres) all swam 7 miles, the longest distance in the event, starting in Glen Cove, Long Island and finishing in Larchmont. John Needham (Heathcote), Tim Callahan (Heathcote) and Peter Doyle (Greenacres) participated in the 4-mile distance. Collectively, these Scarsdale dads swam on Team Sandie in honor of Joel Talish's mother who passed away last November. The six members of Team Sandie have already raised more than $30,000 this year with more contributions still coming in. The 7-mile swimmers hit the water on the Long Island side at 6:30 in the morning while the 4-mile swimmers started from the middle of the sound an hour later. Swimmers began coming up on shore to loud cheers and music just after 9am and they kept on coming in a constant stream until 10:30.

In addition to setting a fundraising record, this year's event marked another Milestone. During a special ceremony

after the swim, researchers from Sloan Kettering announced that they received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the development of a second cancer-fighting drug in the Swim Across America lab. The news drew a big cheer from more than 2,000 spectators, swimmers and volunteers in attendance.

The Long Island Sound Swim was started in 1992 when 18 participants raised just over $12,000. Overall, Swim Across America has raised more than $30,000,000 to fight cancer.

(Pictured at top: "Team Sandie"  from left to right: John Needham, Joe Kaufman, Joel Talish, Josh Glantz)