Prelude to "Swim Across America,"
WHAT: Former Olympic swimming legends will be coming to UCSF Children’s Hospital to meet with young patients. These same Olympians will be participating in a 10-mile-long relay swim around San Francisco Bay on September 23 in the first “Swim Across America San Francisco to Fight Cancer.”
WHEN: Friday, September 22, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: UCSF Children’s Hospital
505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco
WHO: Olympians who will visit the hospital include:
Janel Jorgensen has been a member of the Boston Swim Across America family for 14 years. She was part of the 1988 Olympic Team and a silver medalist in the 400-meter medley relay. In 1987, she earned two gold medals at the Pan American Games, and in 1991 she became a member of the Pan Pacific Games Team. Over her four years as a Stanford Cardinal, Jorgensen captured 17 NCAA championship titles. Jorgensen still owns the university records for both the 100-meter fly and the 400-meter individual relay. She has formerly held American records in four separate events.
Ray Carey competed in the 1996 Olympics, swimming the 200-meter butterfly. After doing three Boston swim events over the years, Carey is looking forward to staying closer to his home in Menlo Park, CA, and agreed to help with the San Francisco inaugural event.
Jeff Float seemed destined to swim. “With a name like Float,” he said in an interview with USA Swimming.org, “what else was I going to do?” Float has been in the pool ever since he joined Arden Hills Swim Club, home to greats such as Mark Spitz and US Olympic Coach Sherm Chavoor. When Float was 13 months old, he contracted meningitis, which caused him to lose his hearing. He says he chose the pool in part because he didn’t need the ability to hear in order to excel in swimming. Float was a member of both the 1980 and 1984 Olympic teams. During the Los Angeles Olympics, he and his teammates set a new world record in the 800-meter Freestyle relay.
Mark Henderson, won the gold medal in the 400-medley relay at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Henderson’s competitive and highly decorated swimming career lasted for more than 20 years, and includes both Olympic and national honors. When Henderson received his gold medal in the 400-medley relay in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, his butterfly split was considered the second fastest split in the history of swimming at that time.
Roque Santos swam the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1992 games in Barcelona. He was a six-time All American at UC Berkeley and is the current school record-holder. He was world-ranked in breaststroke from 1989 to 1995, and he has coached swimmers to national and world titles. Currently, he holds the Masters World Record in five events, and he conducts breaststroke clinics throughout the country.
Anne Cribbs and her team mates won the gold medal for the 400-meter medley relay and she placed fifth in the world in the 200-meters breast stroke at the 1960 Olympic Games. Recently, when Anne combined her love of sports with her organizing skills, she and several partners developed a bid proposing the Bay Area as a future Olympic venue. The momentum was contagious and the supporting network was world class. As president of Anne Cribbs and Company, Anne is currently leading the Bay Area Senior Olympic Committee (BASOC) in their quest to get the Senior (50+) Olympic Games here in our backyard.
BACKGROUND:
The UCSF Children’s Hospital Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program, directed by pediatric oncologist Robert Goldsby, MD, will be the swim’s sole beneficiary. Goldsby will team up with Aimee Sznewajs, the clinical coordinator of the Survivor Program, and swim in the relay. To make an online contribution to the “Robert Goldsby and Aimee Sznewajs” team visit
Robert Goldsby and Aimee Sznewajs or to learn more about the event go to: Swim Across America.
Swim Across America is a 20-year-old, non-profit organization founded to raise money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment by sponsoring swimming events throughout the United States. To date, Swim Across American has raised over $13.5 million.
One of the nation’s top children’s hospitals, UCSF Children’s Hospital creates an environment where children and their families find compassionate care at the healing edge of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond.
UCSF is a leading university that consistently defines health care worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the health professions and life sciences, and providing complex patient care.
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