Maya Merhige, 17, Adds Crossing of New Zealand’s Cook Strait
American teenager Maya Merhige this weekend completed a crossing of the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the latest in the 17-year-old myriad open water feats.
Merhige made the crossing in 14 hours, 8 minutes, 36 seconds on Friday, swimming 22 kilometers (13.67 miles). She is one of the youngest swimmers to achieve this crossing. She was supported on boat by her father, Chris Merhige, timekeeper and coach Kelly Gentry and godparents Geoff Tennican and Jen Dunning.
The Cook Strait is a treacherous body of water separating the North and South Islands of New Zealand, with sheer cliffs and hit winds in addition to abundant marine life.
Merhige swam through winds of 15 to 25 knots, swells up to a meter high, water temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and air temperature of 59 degrees. She swam in only a bathing suit, swim cap and goggles.
“Swimming the Cook Strait was a hard, but incredible experience,” Merhige said in a Swim Across America press release. “The jellyfish stings, unpredictable currents and wind presented unique challenges, but knowing that my efforts contribute to cancer research kept me motivated. Having my godparents by my side meant the world to me—they have been some of my strongest supporters, always believing in me and helping to make these swims possible.”
One of the youngest swimmers to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, Merhige swam the English Channel in 2024. Her swims have been in partnership with Swim Across America, and she has raised more than $125,000 for cancer research. The Cook Strait brings her to four of the Ocean’s Seven Swims completed (Catalina, Molokai, English Channel). She is the youngest woman to swim the Catalina Channel, which the native of Berkeley, California, did at age 14. She completed the Manhattan 20 Bridges swim at age 15.
Merhige began open water swimming at 9 at the Swim Across America event in San Francisco, swimming in honor of friend and cancer survivor Susan Helmrich. Merhige, who will begin college in the fall, has survived a benign pancreatic tumor discovered in 2023.