Johns Hopkins Swimmers Raise $13,633 for Cancer Research at Baltimore Pool Swim
Johns Hopkins University men’s and women’s swimming teams raised $13,633 to finish as the top fundraising team at the annual Swim Across America Baltimore Pool Swim, hopkinssports.com reported. The event, held at the Coppermine Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center, brought in a total of $106,784 to support the Swim Across America Lab at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
Event Totals and Comparison With Past Milestones
The 2026 Baltimore Pool Swim generated $106,784, making the Blue Jays one of only two participating teams to exceed the $10,000 fundraising threshold. While the event’s single-year total stands below its inaugural year in 2010—when the Baltimore event raised over $465,000 in its first running—it continues a long-standing partnership between the university’s swimming program and local cancer research efforts.
Origins of the Baltimore Charity Swim
John Dierkes, a 1977 Johns Hopkins graduate and a national champion swimmer for the Blue Jays, established the Baltimore event in 2010 alongside another Masters swimmer at Meadowbrook. Dierkes began participating in Swim Across America in 1999 as a cancer survivor who also lost his wife to the disease. He enlisted then-head coach George Kennedy and the Blue Jay swimming teams to support the cause, laying the groundwork for ongoing team involvement under Coach Scott Armstrong.
“I’m very proud to see the men’s and women’s team so involved, beginning with Coach Kennedy and continuing with Coach Armstrong,” Dierkes said, according to hopkinssports.com. “We were so fortunate to bring the Kimmel Cancer Center on as a beneficiary in the beginning and to continue to support its research in the fight against cancer.”
National Impact of Swim Across America
Swim Across America was founded in 1987 through a charity relay swim across the Long Island Sound with the core mission of funding cancer research. Over more than three decades of operation, the organization has raised upwards of $150 million. These funds have directly supported breakthroughs in immunotherapy, gene therapy, personalized medicine, and specialized patient programs across the country. The Swim Across America Lab at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center operates as one of nine named SAA research laboratories nationwide.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Baltimore Pool Swim
Where did the 2026 Baltimore Pool Swim take place?
The event was hosted at the Coppermine Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
How much did the Johns Hopkins swimming teams raise?
The men’s and women’s swimming teams raised a combined $13,633, earning them the distinction of top fundraising team at the event.
Where do the funds raised by the Baltimore event go?
All proceeds from the Baltimore Pool Swim support the Swim Across America Lab at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
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