The family that swims together stays together. This is especially true for one Columbia family.

“I guess you can say swimming is in our blood,” Jen Traube said.

Jen’s husband, John, and their 14-year-old daughter, Meredith, recently displayed their strong passion for swimming, participating in the 4.4-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in Maryland on June 8.

The annual charity swim takes place under the Bay Bridge in Maryland in support of March of Dimes.

This was the second time John Traube made the swim, joining longtime friends and college teammates Jason Miller and David Sheets. The three men were members of the Clarion University of Pennsylvania men’s swim team.

This year, Meredith, who is a competitive year-round swimmer for Flyers Aquatic Swim Team in St. Louis and also swims for Hilltoppers in Dupo, decided to join them. It was an instant success for the teen — she completed the swim in two hours and 13 minutes, good for first place in her age group.

“(This was) a major accomplishment for her, and (she) was the youngest female to complete the race,” Jen said.

In all, Meredith has been swimming for about nine years. She started with Hilltoppers, and since age 8 has been swimming year-round for Flyers Aquatic out of Lindbergh High School.

“Her father is a major role model and influence in her love of the sport,” Jen said of the special swimming bond between father and daughter.

In fact, swimming is what brought the family together in the first place.

“I, too, was a competitive swimmer in college and that is how John and I met,” Jen said, explaining that she attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and met her future husband during a conference meet.

“It’s all we know.”