The Chicago River hosted its first open water swim since 1926 on Sunday, and Olympian Olivia Smoliga made a big splash in her hometown.
Smoliga won the non-wetsuit 1-mile race on Sunday near her home of Glenview. The river has been unsafe to swim in for nearly a century, making it a huge deal for the two-time Olympian.
“I think it definitely will change the way that people see the river,” Smoliga told Block Club Chicago. “Truthfully, whenever we’d do a boat tour — hey, I’m ready to jump in it. I want to jump in, always, so the fact that I was able to do it and (Chicago) cleaned it up, it’s so nice.”
More than 300 open-water swimmers had the same historic feel for the Chicago River on Sunday.
The course was from the Dearborn Street bridge to Wolf Point and back to the Clark Street bridge. Spectators watched the 1- and 2-mile swims from the Riverwalk area.
“Reclaiming our river not only creates a recreational space for residents and visitors, but it also puts us on the map, along with other global destinations, where open-water swims have become part of city culture,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Chicago Sun Times.
Smoliga won her race in 22:45, besting the field by about 15 seconds.
She wasn’t the only USA National Team member to participate.
Becca Mann won the 2-mile non-wetsuit race in 40:07, winning by close to 5 minutes.
“Water was beautiful, very clear,” Mann told the Chicago Sun Times. “Every time I breathed, I could see the city around me.”
Wheaton College junior Isaac Eilmes won the men’s 2-mile in 40:13.
Levy Nathan won the non-wetsuit men’s race in 22:22, ahead by 32 seconds.
In the wetsuit division, 41-year-old Jessica Achtstatter won the women’s 1-mile in 23:57, finishing more than seven minutes ahead of the field.
Liz Spears, 25, won the women’s 2-mile race by six seconds.
For the men, Joe Higgins, 41, won the 1-mile wetsuit in 23:12. William Sindewald,39, won the 2-mile wetsuit race in 48.27, besting the field by nearly five minutes.
