Swim for Cystic Fibrosis
Contact:
Liam Donnelly, 604.291.3176; 778.772.7277 (cell); liam_donnelly@sfu.ca
Joyce Taylor, CF office, 604.436.1158; administrator@cfvancouver.ca
Margaret Benson, 604.985.6628
Marianne Meadahl, SFU PAMR, 604.291.4323
SFU varsity swimmers hope to break a few world records for a good cause.
They'll join nearly 100 participants from local swim clubs for the annual Cystic Fibrosis Swim-a-rama on Sunday, April 1, from 2 - 4 p.m. in SFU's Marg and Paul Savage pool.
At 2 p.m., four SFU swimmers, including Vicky Sui, Addie Kolyaba, Tina Hoang and Kathleen Stoody—who recently qualified for this summer's Pan American Games in Brazil—will attempt to break the 200M butterfly world record held by China's Yu Yang. Each will swim 50 meters.
Four varsity men's team swimmers will challenge Australian Ian Thorpe’s freestyle world record. Kyle Smerdon, Randall Drall, Lucke Armstrong and Mcgyver Tse will each cover 50 meters.
The goal is to raise $20,000 for CF. "It’s a devastating disease that gets little attention," says SFU head swim coach Liam Donnelly. "A lot of lives are cut short by it. We hope to make a difference towards seeing a cure within our lifetime."
Donnelly says while fundraising continues there have been great success stories. SFU alumna Margaret Benson – a former Swim-a-rama participant - went through SFU with CF, became a North Shore teacher and now, at 47, is a double-lung transplant survivor currently training for the Sun Run and competing in dragon boat racing.
An award recognizing the volunteer efforts of George and Penny Pedersen will also be presented during the event. The former SFU president and his wife have been instrumental in organizing the event and fundraising for CF for over a decade. The couple had two grandchildren born with CF. The debilitating and eventually fatal disease afflicts 3,500 Canadians.