Swimming legend and Olympian Sue Walsh is making waves again – this time not just in the pool, but also for cancer research. Sue, who is fighting cancer herself, is one of the organizers of the 2nd annual Swim Across America – Carolina Pool Swim on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the Koury Natatorium at UNC Chapel Hill.
Hundreds of swimmers and volunteers will be joining the effort and making waves to raise money to fight cancer for the swim’s local beneficiary, UNC Lineberger Cancer Center. Those interested in diving in and swimming, volunteering or donating, can do so at swimacrossamerica.org/carolina
Swimming and philanthropy go hand-in-hand for Sue Walsh. She was first introduced to Swim Across America through her 1980 U.S. Olympic teammate Craig Beardsley, a long-time Swim Across America supporter and participant. Sue always felt that the organization’s mission of funding life-saving cancer treatments was a meaningful way to give back.
“Over the years, swimming has given me so much joy,” noted Sue. “It made perfect sense to partner with Swim Across America to direct my passion towards finding a cure for cancer – which has affected so many people in my life.”
Sue has had an illustrious swimming career, and many consider her a legend in the swimming world. She was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, won two medals at the 1982 World Aquatic Championships, and while swimming at the University of North Carolina, became a 10-time national champion and three-time Most Outstanding Swimmer at the ACC Championships.
In 2003, she was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Throughout the last 20 years, she still competed in swimming in the master’s category, setting six world records in her age group at the 2007 United States Masters’ Swimming Championships.
In 2010, Sue’s mother Joan, lost her fight to melanoma. Then, in 2019, Sue was diagnosed with colon cancer making her support of Swim Across America that much more personal. Sue shared this news with Rob Butcher, CEO of Swim Across America and Sue’s close friend through their master’s swimming association.
“Rob invited me to speak at the 2021 Swim Across America – Charlotte charity swim. I was incredibly proud to share my story with the crowd of supporters,” said Sue.
Of course, Sue did more than speak at the event. She also dove in to help make waves to fight cancer – and at the same time, conquered her fear of swimming in open water!
“Although I had a fear of swimming in anything except a pool, I couldn’t stand on the shore and watch others doing their part to raise money for the incredible researchers at the Levine Cancer Institute,” said Sue.
After Sue’s initial cancer diagnosis, she had surgery and was declared cancer free. In 2022, a scan revealed new lesions had formed. Now, Sue is receiving treatment for stage IV colon cancer at the Levine Cancer Institute.
“I receive incredible care there. And I have watched some very good friends begin their cancer journey and others succumb to the disease this past year. That made me motivated to invest even more of my time and energy in an amazing organization such as Swim Across America,” noted Sue.
Sue Walsh’s cancer fight and connection to swimming and Swim Across America inspired her to propose a pool swim at a familiar place.
“When I was diagnosed again last year, I began discussing with Rob Butcher and Carolina Head Swimming and Diving Coach Mark Gangloff, the possibility of a pool swim at The University of North Carolina’s Koury Natatorium,” said Sue. “In 2022, our first year, we raised more than $90,000 for UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the home of one of my oncologists. This year, we are on target to surpass that level of fundraising!”
Sue Walsh is determined to raise funds for cancer research through her own cancer battle. Her determination speaks to her selfless nature. Over the years, Sue has personally raised more than $30,000 for Swim Across America.
“I don’t know if any of the research being done at Levine Cancer Institute or Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will directly impact my quality of life or my life span, but I want to do all I can to “Make Waves to Fight Cancer,” said Sue.
Sue Walsh’s accolades continue to pour in. In August 2023, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) dedicated its pool to her – a much deserved honor.
“We are honored that your name, in perpetuity, will be associated with our university and our aquatics center,” UNCP Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings said during the dedication ceremony. “To you, Sue, your family and your friends, please know that UNC Pembroke is excited, we’re honored, and we are inspired to honor such a great legend.”
Swim Across America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1987 with its first open water event in Long Island Sound. Since that time, the nonprofit organization has raised more than $100 million to fight cancer. In its 36 years of making waves to fight cancer, more than 100,000 swimmers and 150 Olympians have swum the circumference of the earth three times, uniting a movement to fight cancer that has created a groundswell of support spanning all generations. Today, more than 24 communities hold open water swims and hundreds of charity pool swims each year, from Nantucket to under the Golden Gate Bridge, which support innovative cancer research, detection and patient programs.
Swim Across America’s funding of clinical trials for patients helped contribute to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy cancer treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda. In June of last year, a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
The clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America. More than 60 scientific grants are funded each year and there are now ten dedicated Swim Across America Labs at major institutions including: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, John Hopkins Medicine Dallas, Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, Infusion Center at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and San Francisco, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, The Swim Across America Pediatric Research Lab at Columbia University Medical Center New York, and The Swim Across America Laboratory at Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.
To learn more about the Swim Across America – Carolina swim on September 30, or register to swim, donate or be a land or water volunteer, visit swimacrossamerica.org/carolina
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Swim Across America. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.