Shall We Gather at the River: Chicago's First River Swim in Almost a Century

 Once upon a time, the Chicago River, as rivers usually do, flowed into Lake Michigan.  The rapidly growing city used the river as its public sewer, sending our nasty stuff out into the same lake from which we drew our drinking water.  Strangely enough, this resulted in deadly outbreaks of cholera and other unpleasantness, so at the turn of the 20th century we started a massive public works project and built the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, an engineering marvel that allowed the flow of the river to be reversed and for our sewage to float down the Mississippi to become New Orleans's problem.

We were so proud of this that in 1927 we held a Chicago River Swim and then, due to increasing pollution, we banned it from happening ever again - until this year.  Organizers tried it again in 2024, drawing over 1,100 applicants, but the city denied the necessary permit citing,safety concerns.  The event was shifted to Lake Michigan, where $200,000 was raised for charity.

This year the concerns somehow disappeared, so a permit was issued, and on Sunday, September 21st, nonprofit A Long Swim organized 500 qualified swimmers diving in from the Chicago Riverwalk for either two or one mile heats.

The event benefits ALS research at Northwestern's Feinberg School, as well as swim safety education for Chicago's at-risk children.

swimmers gather along the Chicago Riverwalk

First two-mile swimmers crossing the finish line

First one-mile swimmers lining up

Photographer takes a kayak