Berkeley High School senior Maya Merhige has swam three of the hardest open-water swims in the entire world. Merhige is a senior at Berkeley High School, and she has already broken seven world records for her open swimming achievements. Open water swimming is the act of swimming in a body of water, such as a lake or an ocean. At age 14, Merhige became the youngest woman to swim the Catalina channel, and at age 15 she became the youngest person to cross Hawaii’s Ka’iwi Channel. She is now 17 and has made her mark in the world of open water swimming.
Merhige began swim lessons at age two, but her open-water career did not begin until she was nine. On nine-year-old Merhige’s first open-water swim, she said she immediately thought it was, “The coolest thing ever.” This first open-water swim she participated in led her to join non-profit organization Swim Across America, where she has now raised over $145,000. The primary cause Merhige raises money for on her swims is pediatric cancer research for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
Through Swim Across America, Merhige has made numerous relevant contributions and had influential experiences. “I’ve swum and worked with a lot of Olympians, which has been incredible … And (I’ve been) meeting doctors and learning. I’m now going to study pre-med in college, and that’s because of meeting these doctors and what I’ve been able to learn from them,” she explained.
Doing this charity work for pediatric cancer also helps keep her motivated to push through difficult situations. Merhige said, “Whenever I’m having a really hard moment, I kind of think to myself, these children, like even babies are going through cancer, and if they can manage cancer, then I can swim 10 more minutes.” Working towards this cause provides Merhige with motivation, as she is actively fundraising for these children with every mile she swims.
Merhige shared her past challenges when she first began open-water swimming. “I actually cried the entire time I did it. The first three years, I was like, ‘this is horrible.’ Additionally, when swimming immensely long distances, it’s extremely normal to get burnt-out,” she recalled.
Swimming has been central to Merhige’s life. “I’ve gotten to go to London and France and New Zealand and Hawaii and swim around Manhattan. I’ve gotten to go to all these cool places and get these awesome perspectives,” she expressed. With these experiences, Merhige is able to give back to the community while building her skills as a swimmer. Merhige explained, “Swimming is just something that I love, and something that is really important to me.”