Brad Snyder, a Navy veteran who was blinded while serving in Afghanistan, has only looked forward since his injury. He went on to win a gold medal in the Paralympic Games on the exact one-year anniversary of the day he lost his vision when he swam in London in 2012, and then this summer in Rio he claimed three gold medals and broke a 30-year-old world record!
And he is not stopping there.
On Sunday, October 23, he will jump into the open water, swimming two miles from Alcatraz to the San Francisco Bay to help raise awareness for the 5th Annual Swim for Sight event. Brad, along with a swimming guide, will be part of a 100-person swimming contingent to raise funds for That Man May See, a foundation at the University of San Francisco’s Department of Ophthalmology.
“I am excited and honored to participate in the 5th Annual Swim for Sight event,” Snyder said. “I hope that all of the work we do in the water will help researchers do the necessary work in the laboratories to bring back sight to some people who no longer can see.”
Brad has become a global swimming star following his performances at the London and Rio Paralympic Games and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, USA Today, People and CNN International, among other major media outlets, and recently was named by the U.S. Olympic Committee as Team USA’s Best Male Paralympic Athlete from the Games in Rio.
“We are looking forward to having Brad swim with us this year,” said Lorie Hirson, co-founder of Alcatraz Swim for Sight and who has. “Our goal is to raise $500,000 in five years with a fundraising goal of $150,000 this year.”
All of the proceeds from this event support vision research. More than 10 million Americans suffer vision loss from incurable eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome and macular degeneration.
The 5th Annual Alcatraz Swim For Sight will begin at Alcatraz and end at Crissy Field-East Beach. For more information about this event, click here.
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About Alcatraz Swim for Sight
Alcatraz Swim for Sight was started in 2012 by husband and wife duo, Lorie and Ron Hirson, to raise awareness and funds to eliminate eye disease and blindness worldwide. The event has grown into a coveted, community-based swim that attracts awe-inspiring men and women fighting to live in a world where they will one day see again. All proceeds from the Alcatraz Swim for Sight benefit That Man May See, the support foundation of UCSF Ophthalmology Department. After the 5th Annual Alcatraz Swim for Sight, the event will have raised $500,000 supporting vision research at UCSF to save and restore sight.
About That Man May See (TMMS)
That Man May See was founded as a 501(c)(3) public charity more than 40 years ago. Contributions to TMMS help to eliminate eye diseases and blindness; attract and retain world-class clinicians and researchers; ensure the finest education for future ophthalmologists at the University of California, San Francisco; and increase public understanding of eye health. The foundation focuses its fundraising efforts on patient care, research, education and community service.
Courtesy of Amy Rosewater/The Factory Agency
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