On Tuesday, November 6th, Whitman Swimming joined over 45 other NCAA Division III swim teams to raise awareness for sarcoma, and honor the memory of former Carleton swimmer, Ted Mullin, who died of synovial cell sarcoma in 2006.
Sarcoma
Sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that attacks the musculoskeletal system. Over 55% of the new cases of sarcoma each year are being reported in the 15-19 year old population. Much research is needed to combat sarcoma, as current treatments have a relatively low success rate.
History of the Hour of Power
In 2006, the Carleton Swim Team captains decided to host a swim-a-thon to try to raise money for research in sarcoma and honor their teammate Ted. The event has taken off, with swim teams all over the country joining the efforts. The event itself is a full team effort all-out sprint relay. There are two rules: 1) every swimmer must swim all-out (a 50 at a time), and 2) all the relays must remain even with one another, or at least on the same 50 lap (swimmers may change strokes or even swap relay team members to accomplish this). And all the teams did the same workout on Tuesday afternoon - creating a tremendous sense of community!
In addition to a terrific sprint workout, it was a lot of fun for Whitman to be involved. We invited members of campus to come watch, giving them yellow ribbons (the color to honor sarcoma). We had a nice turnout and hope to continue to participate in this great event in the future!
