DETAILS COMING SOON

Information on the 2025 Chicago River Swim (tentatively scheduled for Sunday, September 21) will be announced soon. Thank you for your patience.

— 100 YEARS AGO 

RIVER SWIMS WERE THE BEES KNEES  

The Chicago River's flow was reversed nearly 125 years ago to draw fresh water from Lake Michigan and clean a polluted river.

To celebrate the waterway's drastic turnaround, the Illinois Athletic Association began hosting a series of open water swims back in 1908.

The river swims attracted the highest-profile swimmers in the world, and more than 100,000 spectators lined the shore. The Chicago River Swims were a jewel in the crown of our young, vibrant city.