Would you swim the Chicago River? 500 individuals will and this is why

CHICAGO – Chicago is making a historic splash this fall!

For the primary time in 98 years, the Chicago River will host an open-water swim occasion, inviting 500 skilled swimmers to sort out a two-mile course by the guts of the town’s iconic downtown. 

The long-awaited Chicago River Swim has formally been authorised by the town after a failed allow try final 12 months and is scheduled to happen on Sept. 21.

A River Reimagined

The backstory:

The occasion is greater than a race. It’s a strong image of transformation.

Once deemed dangerously polluted, the river’s rehabilitation has turn into considered one of Chicago’s environmental success tales. 

Thanks to many years of labor by metropolis officers, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), and technological developments, the river is now secure sufficient to host this high-profile endurance occasion.

Doug McConnell, CEO & Founder of A Long Swim, is a seasoned swimmer who’s personally taken a dip within the river close to Chinatown. He says the swim is a strategy to showcase simply how far the river has come and to have a good time it. 

With security and public notion in thoughts, the occasion organizers are implementing a strong three-tiered water testing system:

• MWRD will proceed its long-term river monitoring.
• Current’s H2Now Chicago will present real-time information on micro organism ranges through h2nowchicago.org.
• University of Illinois at Chicago will conduct further day by day water high quality testing from eight places alongside the course within the weeks main as much as the occasion.

McConnell emphasised that the river shares the identical water supply as Lake Michigan, separated solely by a lock system. While warning is warranted, he insists the swim will meet strict well being and security requirements.

Participants will swim beneath a number of the metropolis’s most iconic bridges and skyscrapers, proper alongside the bustling Riverwalk. 

The two-mile course is designed to spotlight each the pure and architectural great thing about Chicago’s city core, with spectators anticipated to cheer on swimmers from the Riverwalk all through the occasion.

This is not nearly open-water glory. 

Proceeds from the occasion will go towards ALS analysis.

Who Can Participate

What we all know:

This isn’t an off-the-cuff dip. It’s a problem for seasoned swimmers solely. 

Applications, open by 10 p.m. Monday, can be found at ChicagoRiverSwim.org. 

Why September?

What we all know:

The resolution to host the occasion in September wasn’t arbitrary. It’s statistically the driest month in Chicago, decreasing the danger {of electrical} storms. Ironically, when final 12 months’s lake-based swim occasion was held in September, it was a whole washout resulting from rain, however organizers are optimistic this 12 months will carry clearer skies.

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