Zolina Zizi, a Richmond, California resident and American Indian, was a member of the Ketchikan Indian Community relay team that took 3rd place in the August 4th Pennock Island Challenge, an open water swim/fundraiser (in mid 50s to low 60s temperature), for the American Diabetes Association. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Indian/Alaska Natives (AIAN) have the higest rate of diabetes than any ethnicity in the U.S.

Obesity is a leading risk factor of diabetes. Based on the body-mass index (BMI), 11.3% of teens and 68.5% of AIAN adults in California are overweight or obese, according to a May, 2012 report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Zolina represented PATHSTAR ( http://www.pathstar.org) for the Alaska swim. Bay area-based PATHSTAR works with AIAN communities to inspire healthy nutrition and active lifestyle practices. Zolina is a two-time participant of the annual PATHSTAR Alcatraz Swim Week that ends with a swim from the "Rock" to the San Francisco shore. (Water temperature is similar to the Pennock Island Challenge.) The 2013 PATHSTAR Alcatraz Swim Week will be held October 6-14.

Photo Credit: Ruth Pechay/Ketchikan Indian Community Health Clinic, Alaska