Penticton teenager swims 20 miles across Okanagan Lake to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society in honor of her grandmother A Penticton teenager who has been swimming open since she was 10 is using her talent to help raise money for a cause she cares about. “On August 14th, I will be swimming from Peachland to Penticton to raise money for Alzheimer’s research because last March, my grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s and had suffered from it for over 10 years,” said Issie Grecoff. “This disease really runs in my family, even on my dad’s side.” The now 16-year-old just returned home from California after swimming in the Far Westerns. “I’ve been competitive swimming for nine years. I compete in the pool year-round and then in the summer, I kind of switch to open water.” Grekoff completed the three- and seven-kilometer Rattle Snake Island Swim, as well as the 11.8-kilometer Skaha Lake Ultra Swim. Back in 2019, Grekoff raised $4,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada through the Ultra swim. “So every year I wanted to increase my swim distance, raise more money, but because of COVID I kind of had to take a break from doing that. This is the first year I’ve been able to increase my distance and try to raise more money’. In 2020, Grekoff did her own open water swim in Quebec, swimming 24 kilometers in Lake St. John. When she does the Okanagan Lake swim next Sunday, Grecoff will face a distance of 32 kilometers. “It will probably be around 12 hours. I did the 24km in seven hours. So I expect it to be a bit slower at the end, for the last 10km,” he said. Grekoff will use a wetsuit, drink lots of warm fluids and different stroke styles to keep her body warm throughout. “We also have Float Okanagan from Kelowna sponsoring us, and they’re donating a boat for my shower. So that’s really amazing,” she added. “The boat will follow me throughout the swim and have all my food and all the things that I need. And then we’ll also have like a little kayak and paddles to be closer to me… just to make sure that I’m safe.” So far, Grekoff has raised almost $3,500 for the Alzheimer Society of Canada with a goal of reaching $5,000. Support comes from family, friends and neighbors to help Grekov. “I’ve heard from some people that I don’t even know that say, ‘Yeah, this disease touches my family and I’m really happy that you’re raising money for it.’ So I really hope people understand that this means a lot to me and that it affects also many different people.” “I really hope people will come to the finish line and donate.” For more information about Grekoff’s swim and to donate, visit her website here.
