Woman begins 24-mile swim from Bay Bridge to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

By Alexus Davila

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A daring Baltimore woman is taking on an intense 24-mile swim Tuesday morning from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis to the Inner Harbor. It’s a swim no one has ever done before, but the marathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey is determined to make history.

Pumphrey dived into the Bay at Sandy Point State Park at 3:19 a.m. to attempt one of her longest swims ever. She is just the swimmer to do it, as her love for the sport started when she was a toddler.

In 2021, Pumphrey became the 73rd woman in history to complete The Three Swims, the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. The Triple Crown swim required her to swim the English Channel between England and France, the Catalina Channel in California and the 28.5-mile swim in Manhattan, New York City.

Pumphrey hopes that Tuesday’s swim will be a path that the Marathon Swimmers Federation ratifies so others can follow in the future. This year, after decadeslong clean-up efforts, the Inner Harbor was declared swimmable and fishable.

Depending on Tuesday’s weather conditions and her pacing, she could complete the milestone in 12 to 14 hours. If she completes it, Pumphrey will be the first person to ever do so.

Pumphrey said this swim is her love letter to Baltimore and a celebration of the harbor’s swimmable status. She plans to seal that letter by arriving at the Harborplace Amphitheater around 5 p.m.

Two observers are following along the swim to document the milestone.

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