Maya Merhige has become the youngest female to complete the Lake Tahoe swimming triple crown.
The 14-year-old Berkeley native, set out on a mission to do what she loves and help people in the process, so far she has raised $50,000 for pediatric cancer.
Merhige was only 12-years-old when she swam the 12-mile width of Lake Tahoe. The following year, she finished the 10.6-mile Vikings-Holm course.On Monday, she completed the trifecta, by swimming the 21.5-mile length of the lake from Camp Richardson in south lake to Incline on the north shore. "Swimming at night was a really crazy experience," said Merhige. "It was all so dark, I couldn't really tell where I was for a long time.
A boat with two captains aboard followed Merhige throughout her nearly 13-hour swim, but she could not touch the boat per race rules. Merhige says the swim was tough but, one thing kept her motivated-- all of the names she had written on her swim cap. "My swimming is helping a lot of people that I know that are getting [cancer] treatment it is really good motivation," said Merhige. "It reminds me when I'm swimming that whatever I'm going through is nothing compared to what people are going through in treatment."
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