Maya Merhige’s Oceans Seven Goal

‘The Girl That Does Those Crazy Swims’: Maya Merhige… | SwimTrek

Teen swimmer Maya Merhige’s Oceans Seven goal turns spotlight on fight against cancer

USA TODAY

July 25, 2026 Updated July 27, 2026, 11:03 a.m. ET – Search

What is Maya Merhige’s next Oceans Seven challenge swim?

How much has Maya Merhige raised for cancer research?

Teen ultra‑marathon swimmer Maya Merhige is pursuing the Oceans Seven challenge to raise funds for cancer research, aiming to become the youngest ever to complete the seven toughest open‑water swims before turning 20.

One of ultra-marathon swimmer Maya Merhige’s biggest fears is jellyfish. Yet she willingly spends hours swimming through some of the world’s largest and most dangerous bodies of water.

Why?

Because she swims for those who can’t.

Every time Merhige jumps into freezing water surrounded by sharks and jellyfish, she is raising money for cancer research and patient programs through the nonprofit Swim Across America.

“If those patients can do cancer treatment – if those 7-year-olds and 4-year-olds can go through a day of cancer treatment – then I can most definitely swim another 20 strokes,” Merhige says.

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So far, Merhige, 18, has raised more than $172,000 for cancer research.

Teen Girl Battles Jellyfish to Complete 27-mile Swim–May Soon Be Youngest to Finish the Top 7 Ocean Challenges
She aims to become the youngest person to complete the Oceans Seven challenge, a series of the world’s seven most difficult open-water swims. The record belongs to Caitlin O’Reilly, who completed the challenge at 20 years, 227 days old.

On July 8, Merhige completed the fifth swim of the challenge, a 21.4-mile crossing of the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland. Battling 50-degree water, powerful tides and jellyfish stings, she finished in 12 hours, 19 minutes and 37 seconds.

Maya Merhige prepares to swim across the North Channel on July 8, 2026 as a part of the Oceans Seven challenge.
This swim held special significance for Merhige: It took place exactly a year after she had major surgery. After she had a ski accident in 2023, doctors discovered a benign tumor on her pancreas that led to several years of hospital visits and surgeries.

“I think it completely changed my perspective and my understanding of what the cancer experience is like,” she says. “The fact that I can do this and I’m healthy enough to do this – I shouldn’t take advantage of that.”

Maya Merhige – Swim Across America

Before Merhige began the Ocean Seven challenge, she became the youngest woman to swim the width of Lake Tahoe at just 13 years old. She then began the challenge with the Catalina Channel as a freshman in high school, becoming the youngest woman to complete the 20-mile swim at age 14.

One year later, she became the youngest person to complete the Molokai Channel swim in Hawaii at age 15. She followed that by crossing the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the English Channel and the Molokai Channel. But those feats didn’t come easily, she says.

“It took me a long time until maybe a year ago to really be OK with not having a lot of control and not having complete awareness all the time. That really scared me at the beginning – the feeling of being so small in such a big body of water.”

Each swim must be completed solo and unassisted. Swimmers cannot touch a buoy, the boat or any passengers. Every 30 minutes, Merhige is handed a water bottle on a rope filled with carbohydrates to stay fueled, though even that can be difficult when she begins to feel sick.

Despite the physical challenges, Merhige says, the mental challenge is even greater. Instagram

“I have swum for a long time, so I know that physically I can. It’s much more a mental thing to be like, ‘How can I continue doing this and not stress myself out?’”

The Molokai Channel swim was the toughest of the five swims, she says – physically and mentally. She was in the water for 28 hours, nearly twice as long as she and her crew had expected.

“I had such a challenging time,” Merhige says. “That was the only time I’ve ever been in the water and been like, ‘Why do I do this?’”

But whenever she questions her decision to continue, she reminds herself for whom she is swimming. Before every open-water swim, Maya Merhige writes the names of those who have been affected by cancer on her cap before every swim. From family members to friends and even cancer patients she doesn’t know, each name serves as a reminder of why she keeps going.

Merhige has raised more than $172,000 for cancer research.
Merhige has two swims remaining to complete the Oceans Seven challenge. She is scheduled to swim the Strait of Gibraltar in August and complete the Tsugaru Strait in Japan next year – both before her 20th birthday.

Before each swim, she’ll write the names of cancer patients and survivors across her cap, just as she always does.