Hopkinton, MA – 275 swimmers from 12 states raised a record-setting $120,000 to fight breast cancer today at Against the Tide, the nation’s only swim to fight breast cancer. Since 1993, more than 1,200 swimmers supported by thousands of individual and corporate supporters have raised $370,000 for the event’s beneficiaries, the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition (MBCC) and The Silent Spring Institute. Against the Tide was founded by Maria Vetrano and her partner Helen Privett for a personal reason: Ms. Vetrano’s 42-year-old mother died of breast cancer in 1978. The competitive portion of this year’s swim was won by 27-year-old Sheila Taormina of Livonia, MI, a 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist (member, 4 x 200 freestyle relay). Sheila was closely followed by World Champion Triathlete Karen Smyers of Lincoln, MA.
Event co-founder Maria Vetrano commented on the tremendous growth of the Against the Tide swim: We started this event five years ago with a handful of friends and an enormous amount of energy. In its first year, Against the Tide raised $16,000 to fight breast cancer, said Vetrano. We are amazed and delighted to have Against the Tide become such a great success. It is now one of the biggest fund-raising swims in the country — and still the only swim dedicated to fighting a women’s disease.
The majority of those who swim in Against the Tide participate because they have been affected by breast cancer in some way. The diverse group of participants included mother-daughter teams, families, women living with breast cancer, champion triathletes, masters swimmers, and fitness swimmers with swim fins, with ages ranging from 10 to 75.
Against the Tide includes separate one-mile swims for fitness/recreational swimmers and competitive swimmers. The event provides swimmers of all ages and ability levels with the opportunity to combat the disease that strikes 182,000 American women every year.
As the primary sponsor of Against the Tide, NIKE SWIM is committed to supporting women’s health concerns. NIKE SWIM, a division started by NIKE/Jantzen, Inc. in 1995, provides swimming apparel for competitive and fitness athletes. Corporate sponsors also include: Alliance Print Group; Atent for Rent, Inc.; Bread & Circus Whole Foods Markets; The Caritas Christi Health Care System; CVS® Pharmacy and Chesebrough-Ponds,® Inc. (joint sponsorship); Finagle A Bagel; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters®; Harrison & Troxell Internet Software Engineering and Services; J.P. Licks Homemade Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt; MetroSports Magazine; Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.; PMS Escape; Poland Spring®; SWIM Magazine; Swatch®; VO2 MAX Energy Bar; Women’s Sports + Fitness; Yoplait; and ZAND Herbal Formulas.
For more information, please call: (617) 489-3482, send e-mail to: maria@vetrano.com or visit the Against the Tide Web site at: http://www.vetrano.com/swim.