Photo: Cate Brown Photography
Elizabeth Beiselis doing her best to keep her dad’s legacy alive.
The 30-year-old former Olympic swimmer — who won a silver in the 400-meter individual medley and a bronze at the 200-meter backstroke at the 2012 London Olympics — is using her platform to bring awareness to cancer through her charity,Block Cancer.
She raised $665,000 for cancer research in the challenge, but the feat was not easy — even for an Olympic-caliber swimmer, she tells PEOPLE.
“It was hard,” Beisel says. “I mean, swimming is hard mentally, whether you’re swimming distance or not, but for me to kind of just be alone for two to three to four hours in all of my training swims was really difficult.”
Cate Brown Photography
But Beisel accomplished what she set out to do — and now she’s ready to contribute more to the cancer cause through her charity.
“I figured instead of doing a very hard swim every summer,” she laughs, “I could probably make it easier and sell some really cool merch and sell products for cancer patients that are actually of high quality and cute, and things that they would want to wear.”
With a website that launched less than a month ago, the former athlete says it has already recorded more than $35,000 in sales. The organization donates to 90 percent of its net profits to cancer research and clinical trials through the nonprofit Swim Across America, according to Block Cancer.
“It’s really incredible to see the support that Block Cancer has gotten and how many people are ordering not just the hoodies and like everyday items, but also the porch shirts, the chemo caps, the blankets, the cancer care packages,” Beisel says. “It’s been really beautiful to see the cancer community really lean into it — it’s been wonderful.”
Beisel is humble about her accomplishments — she introduces herself to a reporter as someone who “used to be a swimmer” — but when the Rhode Island native isn’t playing music, surfing, getting her yoga teaching certificate, serving as an analyst for NBC Sports and ESPN, or spending time with her fiancéJack Nichting(whom she met when they were contestants onSurvivor), she’s dedicated to making waves with her foundation.
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“I feel like the possibilities are endless, sadly because cancer touches so many people,” she says. “I think the more that we can raise awareness and really wrap our arms around the people that are actually fighting it, because that’s who it’s all about, and just make them feel like they’re seen and heard and they’re supported, I think is the most important thing for me.”
source: people.com
