Chicago River Swim Makes Waves Again
Mayor Brandon Johnson looks on as Friends'' Executive Directors Margaret Frisbie speaks at a news conference to announce the 2nd Annual Chicago River Swim.
The Chicago River Swim returns on September 20, building on the historic success of its inaugural event in 2025 and continuing to establish a new civic tradition in the river in the heart of downtown Chicago.
Friends of the Chicago River, a longtime advocate for a swimmable Chicago-Calumet River system, celebrates the event as a powerful symbol of the river’s remarkable recovery and Friends’ leadership in making the river swimmable and full of life. Presented by A Long Swim with the City of Chicago and Mayor Brandon Johnson, this year organizers are aiming to attract 750 qualified swimmers from around the world to the Chicago River’s Main Stem while spectators line the Riverwalk to cheer them on to the finish. A joyful spectacle, last year’s event garnered three billion media impressions.
While Friends had a vision for swimming in the river when it was founded in 1979, most people thought of it as unthinkable. Today, the river is cleaner and healthier than it has been in more than 175 years, and millions of Chicagoans and visitors experience it up close every year. That transformation is the result of Friends’ leadership, decades of science, advocacy, public investment, and the collective commitment.
“The return of an authorized open-water swim demonstrates just how far we’ve come in restoring water quality and reconnecting people with the river,” said Frisbie. “Swimmable cities are livable cities, and the Chicago River Swim helps position Chicago as a global leader in reclaiming urban rivers as safe, thriving natural wonders for everyone.”
Friends’ goal is Chicago will sign on to the Swimmable Cities charter before the 2026 event.
Friends’ Executive Director Margaret Frisbie was among the five speakers at the press conference announcing the swim which featured Mayor Johnson; Doug McConnell, CEO of A Long Swim; Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Board President Kari K. Steele; and Chicago Park District General Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa.
Click here to read a Chicago Sun-Times story about the Swim’s announcement.
Produced by the nonprofit A Long Swim, the event raises funds for ALS research while supporting swim education and water safety programs for Chicago youth.
