Nearly 1,000 Swimmers Make Waves to Fight Cancer
When Ryan Harrell, 42, of Mamaroneck entered the water in Glen Cove last July, he was one of 14 swimmers attempting the 10k crossing of Long Island Sound as part of the 34th annual Swim Across America – Long Island Sound open water swim. As he swam toward the finish at the Larchmont Shore Club, Harrell carried with him the memory of a young mother who passed away too soon from cancer, whose final wish he helped fulfill.
This year, Harrell is dedicating every stroke of that crossing to Mariah Aldridge, a 32-year-old mother with colon cancer, whose final wish was to return home to Albertville, Alabama, and spend her remaining time with family and friends. She had been receiving hospice care in Santa Ana, California, but complications from her illness prevented her from traveling commercially. Harrell learned of her situation through social media, and with the help of his employer Soar Jets, a private jet charter company, he was able to arrange a flight for Aldridge. With support from her friends Joslyn Marie, Justin Nunley and Chris Young, the flight became possible. Aldridge was able to leave California, return to Alabama and fulfill her wish of spending her final days with those she loved most.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to help Mariah in her final wish of being surrounded by family and friends,” Harrell noted. “That experience changed me. In my 25th year swimming with Swim Across America, I am dedicating every stroke I take in her honor. While we lost Mariah to cancer, we didn’t lose the chance to know someone as extraordinary as her in this world. Her love endures, her memory lives on, and her spirit lives on in every life she touched, including mine.”
For Harrell, his connection to Swim Across America is 25 years in the making. He originally started swimming with Swim Across America in 2001, when he was a student at Iona Prep and swam with the Badger Swim Club. He joined the event in honor of Bill Weaver, a close family friend from New Rochelle who had pancreatic cancer. Harrell’s father, then principal of Davis Elementary School in New Rochelle, helped his teenage son learn how to fundraise by encouraging the school’s teachers and staff to contribute.
“I was incredibly fortunate to have my father help me raise money when it was entirely new to me,” Harrell said. “Mr. Weaver will forever be the reason I started this journey, but sadly, the list of people who need our support has continued to grow.”
Today, Harrell trains year-round with Team Masters under coach Dave Samuelsohn. His mother is a cancer survivor, and he lost his best friend’s father and sister, whom he considered family, to the disease. He also swims for friends who are still undergoing treatment.
“I swim for those who are fighting this disease,” Harrell added. “My motivation is to swim to raise as much money as possible to help anyone currently facing this battle.
When Robert Thorpe of Mamaroneck dove into Long Island Sound for his fifth Swim Across America – Long Island Swim open water swim, he swam with more purpose than ever before.
Thorpe’s six-year-old daughter, Camille, was diagnosed with leukemia this spring and has been undergoing chemotherapy. Thorpe completed the 5K course as a member of Team Next Level Private, swimming to support the cancer research that is now deeply personal to his family.
“Life throws you curveballs,” Thorpe said. “Camille has a long road ahead, but she’s handling it with a courage that humbles everyone around her. I’ve participated in this swim four times in the past, but never with this much purpose. Swim Across America has spent nearly four decades funding the clinical trials and research that give children like Camille their best chance. This year, that’s not abstract to me. It’s everything.”
Thorpe was among nearly 1,000 swimmers and hundreds of volunteers participating in the 34th annual Swim Across America – Long Island Sound open water swim in Larchmont — one of the largest Swim Across America events in the nation.
Since its first Westchester County swim in 1992, Swim Across America – Long Island Sound has raised more than $32 million for cancer research, care and patient support services in the New York City area for its local beneficiaries: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and Cancer Support Team.
Following record-breaking fundraising last year, the 2026 goal is to raise $2.5 million.
“Every year, our Swim Across America – Long Island Sound community reminds us that this event is about hope, action and the power of coming together,” said Jean Fufidio, event director of Swim Across America – Long Island Sound. “Whether someone swims 10K, 5K or 2K in Long Island Sound, joins a pool swim, participates virtually through SAA My Way, or comes out to volunteer on the land or water, every stroke and every dollar helps support the doctors, researchers and caregivers who are making breakthroughs in cancer care.”
To learn more, visit, swimacrossamerica.org/longislandsound.