Palisadian Heads for Roughwater Swim to Benefit Scholarship Fund

Every morning at 5:30 a.m., Palisadian Drew Daniele heads to the beach to swim from Santa Monica to Will Rogers State Beach. Daniele is training for the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, a 2.4-mile open-water event in Hawaii on Sept. 5. Although the event has quite a history, being in its 42nd year, Daniele is swimming for something other than tradition.

Daniele will be representing the organization Swim with Mike during the roughwater event. Swim with Mike is a scholarship fund that helps disabled athletes return to their sports. The organization was named for former USC swimmer Mike Nyeholt, who was left paralyzed by a motorcycle accident.

Daniele won a lottery drawing to represent Swim with Mike in the Waikiki event. His goal is to gather sponsors to reach a donation goal of $5,000.

"I knew I could swim 100 laps for fun," said Daniele. "What I didn't realize was if you put yourself out there, just a little bit, you'd be surprised about what you'd get back in return."

• To sponsor Drew Daniele in the Waikiki swim, click here.
• For information about Swim with Mike, click here.
• For information on the Swim with Mike event in Hawaii, click here.
• Read about Daniele's participation in the OptimiSport Distance Swim Challenge to benefit l here.
• To read Daniele's previous story, originally posted on Ocean City Patch, click here.

Ocean City Patch Editor Douglas Bergen contributed to this report.

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