“You can’t swim the English Channel.”

That was the prediction and advice of Amanda Mercer‘s doctors who are treating her breast cancer.

“That was the final determining factor, that I was going to do it,” Mercer told Sports Illustrated, “No matter what.”

So she set out and continued to train for her 2-way relay with Jenny Sutton Jalet, Bethany Williston, Emily Kreger, Susan Butcher, and Melissa Karjala across the English Channel this year.

The 44-year-old former Michigan State swimming captain and her teammates – all former collegiate swimming teammates – have raised over US$75,000 to date for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. They will prove their mettle in the Channel next month in a two-way crossing attempt of the existing all-female record of 19 hours 7 minutes.

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