Chris Harris showed NYC river swimming is possible!

Our good friend, Christopher Harris, swam 28.5 miles around Manhattan to raise awareness of (and funds for) + POOL and its efforts to bring river swimming to all New Yorkers!

What does it take to circumnavigate Manhattan in its waters? It takes a lot of support, which includes friends to cheer you on, safety boats, and a dedicated kayaker for the journey of over eight hours. An incredible team of swimmers joined him for mini swims along the way. This team included our very own + POOL Board Member, Fleur Sohtz (yes, we practice what we preach!), Chris’s college teammate, Fletch Callahan (Go Columbia Men’s Swimming & Diving!), his daughter who joined him under the George Washington Bridge, and three-time Olympian Anthony Ervin who took to the Hudson.

Chris was guided by the ‘Queen of Manhattan‘ Jaimie Monahan, who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most swims circumnavigating Manhattan. Pretty impressive, isn’t it?

Chris’ epic swim showed New Yorkers that swimming in the rivers is not only possible, it’s already happening! Urban Swim hosts regular open water swim events throughout the Summer months in NYC. They have more than 200 swimmers each season, and have had no reported illnesses since they started in 2010.

Our community is driving policy changes to make safe river access something everyone can enjoy. Huge shoutout to Chris for showing New Yorkers how its done!