Emily von Jentzen‘s 55-mile Lake Chelan swim, planned for August 31st is a fundraiser to help pay medical expenses for 5-year-old Katelyn Roker of Kalispell, Montana who is battling stage 4 neuroblastoma.

Emily has found her niche in the open water swimming world – she does charity swims on behalf of others who are facing incredible odds due to serious illness.

In 2010, Emily became the first person to swim the length of Montana’s Flathead Lake, an unprecedented 30-mile swim. In addition to setting that world record, she also raised US$9,500 to help pay medical expenses for Karmyn Flanagan, a little girl battling leukemia.

After seeing a television story about a suffering child, 5-year-old Katelyn Roker, she decided on an even more challenging swim – A Lakke for Katelyn, the 55-mile length of Lake Chelan that she expects will take her 28 hours.

“I can’t just sit here and not do anything. From things I learned last year, I can do a better fund raising campaign and train better,” the former competitive swimmer explained. “You never know how long you can do athletics. You never know if you’ll have an accident. Right now, I’m at a point in my life, I’m single, I don’t have kids, I have the time to be selfish and to train.”

How unselfish.

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