This Man Will Attempt to Swim Down the Entire Gowanus Canal and Survive to Tell the Tale

Four Days Left Until I #Swim America's Dirtiest #Waterway #swimwithswain #gowanuscanal #allin http://t.co/wVp12IbScl http://t.co/Fyc99DxPjE
Four Days Left Until I #Swim America's Dirtiest #Waterway #swimwithswain #gowanuscanal #allin http://t.co/wVp12IbScl http://t.co/Fyc99DxPjE

This Wednesday, as part of an Earth Day awareness campaign, swimmer and environmentalist Christopher Swain will be swimming the nearly two-mile-long, heavily polluted Gowanus Canal.

According to his press release:

Swain will swim the entire 1.8 mile length of the Gowanus over the course of the day, from the Flushing Tunnel down to New York Harbor, navigating through industrial waste, fuel slicks, sewage, and trash. Swain is thought to be the first person in history to attempt to swim the entire length of the Gowanus Canal.

The question Swain hopes we will ask is will he survive the swim?* The Gowanus Canal is one of the most polluted waterways in the entire Country, filled with toxic sludge, oils, trash and other bio-hazards. Swimming the canal is a major health risk.

Swain may be crazy, but he is not stupid… the swimmer plans to enter the canal "wrapped in a yellow drysuit and exposure protection gear."

Gowanus Canal
Matt Coneybeare

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

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