Emory Swim & Dive Makes Waves to Fight Cancer at Swim Across America

Nolan Lahmann was only two years old when diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). After undergoing chemotherapy for three years, Nolan was declared cancer-free in 2015. Since then, Nolan has made a point in his life to give back to the medical communities and charities who helped him endure his tough diagnosis. On September 23, Nolan and his entire swim and dive team from Emory University, with 70 members, will be diving in and making waves in the 11th annual Swim Across America Atlanta open water swim, held at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia.

"I have witnessed the impact that charities, such as Swim Across America have on helping all of those fighting cancer," said Nolan. "The outstanding contributions from this charity give immense support for patients like me whose life has been changed forever by cancer. That is why I am proud to Swim Across America."

The Emory Swim & Dive team will be swimming the 5k length swim at the event. Joining them is Olympic swimmer and Emory swim coach Bob Hackett (1976 Olympics), Olympic silver medalist, and former world record-holder.

Nationally, Emory Swim & Dive team is currently the top fundraising teams as part of the "College Cup" competition with Swim Across America, which is a year-long fundraising competition between Swim Across America college teams across the U.S. Raising $59,092, the team is also currently the second highest fundraising team for the Atlanta swim.

"All of us have been impacted by cancer in some way including members of our team, our families, and our friends," noted Will Kerscher, team captain and selected as one of 20 college ambassadors for Swim Across America, selected from swimmers across the country. "Swim Across America is an organization whose cause I am extremely passionate about. It means a great deal to us and them knowing that we're swimming to save lives! We hope you'll join us!"

Will noted that in addition to his teammate Nolan, this year he is also swimming in honor of his Aunt Patty and Uncle Louis, who both have, "Shown us what it means to be strong and how to love unconditionally. Their kindness and care for everyone they encounter or have encountered is a lesson I will carry with me forever as an example of how to live. Every day I am reminded of their strength, perseverance, and commitment to family. To know them is to love them," said Will.

Will has been participating in Swim Across America open water swims for almost eight years and has enjoyed every moment of that time.

Swim Across America provides early-stage funding for clinical trials that may lead to breakthroughs in cancer treatment, and hundreds of scientists have benefited from Swim Across America's funding. This year, the money from this swim will be going to two labs on Emory's campus at Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The first lab, led by Dr. Sherri Smart, studies osteosarcoma, a cancer that has greatly impacted the Swim Across America Atlanta community. The second lab, led by Dr. Waitman Aumann, studies pediatric leukemia and has been collaborating with a lab in Denver, Colorado on some exciting new discoveries.

Established in 2013, Swim Across America Atlanta has raised more than $3 million for its local beneficiary the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and each year welcomes more than 1,000 swimmers and volunteers to help make waves to fight cancer. The Atlanta swim is also known as the “Olympic swimmer super bowl,” as numerous Olympic swimmers, including Craig Beardsley, Carlton Bruner, Maritza Correia McClendon, Nei-Kuan Chia, Hali Flickinger, Missy Franklin, Geoff Gaberino, Andrew Gemmell, Doug Gjertsen, Bobby Hackett, McClain Hermes, Katie Hoff, Joe Hudepohl, Janel Jorgensen McArdle, Kristy Kowal, Kara Lynn Joyce, Steve Lundquist, Megan Neyer, Heather Petri, Ramon Valle, Neil Versfield, Shannon Vreeland, Daniel Waters, Amanda Weir, Ashley Whitney, Peter Wright, Eric Wunderlich, and Paige Zemina are often in attendance each year, along with Paralympic swimmers Mallory Weggemann, Hannah Aspden, and McClain Hermes.

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 Atlanta, 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 Atlanta open water swim on September 23, or register to swim, donate or be a land or water volunteer, visit swimacrossamerica.org/atlanta.