On Nov. 10, the Whitman swimming teams continued their annual tradition of teaming up to remember Ted Mullin, a former Carleton College student, in an Hour of Power.

According to a Wire article from 2019, Mullin passed away from sarcoma, “a rare form of soft-tissue cancer often found in bones, nerves and muscles, at the age of 22. Mullin was a member of the college’s swimming and diving team and was elected as captain twice during his time there.”

Although the remote learning circumstances prevented the team from participating in the usual relay activity, Whitties decided to meet on zoom for in-person workouts and personal swimming.

Junior Ashley Joe, a swimmer on the women’s team, was one of the students who participated in the event. Joe worked with her housemates to simulate the event they would usually hold with the few students who remained on campus.

“Our team is one of many college teams who choose to do this every year at the exact same time, it is very important to us that we support our swim community in every way possible,” Joe said.

The swim coaches also decided to host a virtual workout to bring the team together for a cause that now holds special meaning for many swimming teams around the country.

Sophomore Daniel Bloor, a member of the men’s swimming team, appreciated the opportunity to connect with his team again but acknowledges the difficult circumstances they were in.

“The experience was very interesting due to COVID-19 since we all were on Zoom. I was in my bedroom trying to do the workout with the team while the mat I used slid around on the floor,” Bloor said. “We still did it in a relay format like we usually do, but rather than swimming we did bodyweight exercises on land and would rest while others in our group did the workout.”

The event raises money and awareness for the Ted Mullin fund, which researches the treatment and biology of sarcoma at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital.