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Swimmers will be accompanied by a fleet of 100 boats, and take turns swimming 15.5 miles from Port Jefferson, N.Y. to Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport.
The swim raises money for cancer patients. Blondin, who is the director of the Brain Tumor Center at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, is a member of the “Live to Swim” four-person relay team while Jay and Brian are a father-son duo comprising Team “Two Powerfull.”
Brian Powers, 23, is participating in the event for the eighth year as a swimmer. He first became involved as a student at Fairfield Prep with several classmates. Their inspiration came from fellow students’ parents who had been diagnosed with cancer. It became even more personal when his Prep Swim Team co-captain’s mother, Maura Marden, lost her battle with cancer. Now living in Columbia, S.C., Powers said wouldn’t dream of missing this annual tradition.
“There are no words to describe the feeling of being greeted by hundreds as they cheer us for the home stretch – and my mom is the loudest of all. You can hear her a mile out from the finish line,” he shared. “Seeing the doctors and nurses and volunteers is incredible but knowing our efforts are supporting all the people the (St. Vincent’s Medical Center) Foundation touches is the reason I do this every year.'
Brian’s dad, a 53-year old employee benefits executive, saw how much enjoyment and fulfillment his son experienced each year and decided to join the effort five years ago.
Before beginning the Marathon, he and Brian always exchange high fives with a promise to see each other in Connecticut. “You’d think that we’re spending this nice day together out on the water,” Brian said, “but the reality is that one of us is always in the water. We really don’t see each other except in passing as one of us is going in and the other is coming out of the water.”
Over his eight years of involvement, teams that the younger Power has been involved with have raised more than $50,000 for cancer patients and their families. Click here for the team's fundraising page.
Blondin was captain of the Wesleyan University swimming team for four years and remains an avid swimmer. This is his first year participating in the SWIM Across the Sound Marathon and he intends to make it an annual event.
"Swimming is hard, but it is absolutely nothing compared to what my patients battle each and every day,” he said. “This is another way I can directly impact and help my patients come through this diagnosis.”
Blondin's team members include Elisabeth Aronow and Marcia Coen-Smith, both of New Canaan, and John Schwarten of Bridgeport. Click here for Blondi's fundraising page.
For more information on the event, click here.
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