Five years after losing his brother John to brain cancer, Steve Traube presented John’s wife Jen and her family with a challenge – and an opportunity to honor John’s life by doing what he loved.

The family accepted the challenge and created Team JCT Swim Strong to swim in five Swim Across America charity swims between May and September of this year in John’s memory.

The Traubes swam in open water swims in Tampa, Fla., Kiawah Island, S.C. and Nantucket, Mass. 

The team will be swimming in St. Louis on Saturday, Aug. 26, at the eighth annual Swim Across America – St. Louis Open Water Swim in support of cutting edge research at Siteman Cancer Center. 

Their final swim of the challenge will be Sept. 30 under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. 

For the St. Louis event, Team JCT Swim Strong is joined by hundreds of other swimmers, land and water volunteers who are all making waves to fight cancer by diving into Alpine Lake at Innsbrook Resort in Innsbrook, Mo. 

Those interested in learning more can visit swimacrossamerica.org/stlouis. There are three different distances swimmers can participate in: half mile, one mile or two miles. For those unable to participate Aug. 26, a virtual fundraiser is available.

“John was a master swimmer with a successful swim career that started in his community pool in Red Bud,” Jen said. “He continued training and competing as part of his local swim teams throughout his childhood and then he attended Clarion University in Pennsylvania, where he was a 10-time All-American and team captain for the Division II national swimming championships all four years. By his senior season, his team ranked second in the country. Swimming was in his blood, and he loved Swim Across America.”

During his battle with cancer, John Traube raised thousands of dollars for Swim Across America – St. Louis as their top fundraiser. He completed the 2.4-mile swim successfully alongside his family and several high school and college teammates only two days before his second brain surgery. 

Team JCT Swim Strong is led by Steve and Jess, Jen, Meredith and Emily Traube. Together, the team has a fundraising goal of $30,000. To date, the team has raised just under $11,000.

Swim Across America – St. Louis has raised more than $1.3 million for Siteman Cancer Center since the inaugural St. Louis open water swim in 2016. 

To learn more about Team JCT Swim Strong, visit swimacrossamerica.org/swimstrong. To learn more about the Aug. 26 event in St. Louis, or donate or volunteer, visit swimacrossamerica.org/stlouis.