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| Members of the media: you may use this image provided you credit the photographer, "Basil Childers". |
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ABOUT THE COLUMBIA RIVER SWIM
On July 1, 2003, Christopher Swain became the first person ever to swim the entire 1,243 mile length of the Columbia River, in the Pacific Northwest. So far, his swim has brought stories about the river's disrupted ecosystems and dislocated peoples to over twenty five thousand North American schoolchildren, and to a worldwide media audience of over one billion people.
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| Christopher Swain swims beneath the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge at the finish of his Hudson River Swim For Clean Water in New York City. |
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ABOUT THE HUDSON RIVER SWIM FOR CLEAN WATER
On June 3, 2004, Christopher Swain climbed 4,293 feet up Mt. Marcy--New York state's highest peak--before diving into Lake Tear of Clouds, the highest source of the Hudson River.
On July 28, 2004, Swain stroked under the Verrazano-Narrows bridge and out into the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the first person in history to swim the entire length of the Hudson River.
Swain's goal is a pristine Hudson River.
Swain and his team worked toward this goal by educating the public about the challenges facing the Hudson River, participating in local protection and restoration activities, providing K-12 teachers with online waterway education tools, and promoting an initiative called "Clean Water by 9 AM: nine ways to clean up your waterway every morning."
Swain swam through everything from Class IV+ rapids to PCB's to raw sewage before stroking past Manhattan and out into the Atlantic Ocean.
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| Swain greets the media at the end of his Lake Champlain Swim For Clean Water in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec. |
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ABOUT THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN SWIM FOR CLEAN WATER
On September 28, 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person in history to swim the entire length of Lake Champlain.
Swain plunged into the southernmost tip of Lake Champlain in Whitehall, NY, on August 25, 2004. Over the following month, he swam the entire 129 mile (208 km) length of the Lake--all the way to Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec--in support of clean water.
Through a comprehensive campaign of school visits, community outreach, and advocacy, Swain built support for a pristine Lake Champlain: a lake that is both swimmable and drinkable, every single day of the year.
Swain survived a capsized escort boat, storms, rafts of raw sewage, agricultural chemicals, invasive plants, and Lamprey Eel attacks during the twenty three days he spent in the water.
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| Christopher Swain hugs his daughter Rowan at the finish of his Charles River Swim for Clean Water in 2004. Photo courtesy: Associated Press |
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ABOUT THE CHARLES RIVER SWIM FOR CLEAN WATER
At 11:00 am on November 12, 2004, Christopher Swain completed his Charles River Swim For Clean Water by stroking under the Charlestown Bridge, and out into Boston Harbor.
Over four and one half weeks, Swain swam the entire 80 mile length of the Charles River, making his way through sewage, polluted stormwater, industrial chemicals, and discarded appliances. He slogged through shallow sections, hiked around 20 dams, and passed beneath more than 90 bridges.
Along the way, Swain led trash clean-ups, met with government officials, visited schoolchildren, and lent his support to a coalition of government agencies, and NGO's committed to making the Charles River swimmable, every single day of the year.
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