BALTIMORE — Two days after making history as the first person to complete the Bay to Baltimore swim, Katie Pumphrey took some time to talk with WMAR-2 News about completing the 24-mile race in her hometown.
"I think it was the toughest thing I've ever done," says Pumphrey.
From starting at three in the morning at Chesapeake Bay Bridge, to a finish at five in the afternoon at the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore, Pumphrey stands alone as the only person to complete this 24-mile, near 14-hour swim.
"I've been dreaming about some kind of swim here for twenty years. The more the reality of a swimmable harbor came close, progress just increased," says Pumphrey.
Since 2010, the Waterfront Partnership started working on creating a swimmable harbor. Just this past Sunday, the harbor held its first public swimming event in over 40 years. Making this historic ultra-marathon swim possible.
"It's our harbor. It's our resource. We should absolutely use it and I think trust science. Trust experts," says Pumphrey.
Katie says she's trained for this swim for the last eight months. The swim was originally scheduled for May, but due to the Key Bridge collapse, it got pushed back to June.
"The heat definitely made it significantly more challenging for me. Hydration was really big," she says.
The hardest part of her swim came towards the end once fatigue set in and the current was fighting against her. What kept her going was the surprise of a big pirate ship filled with friends and family.
"A lot of my swims are other cities and other countries. So, I don't get to have so many people there. They're either watching and following on the tracker watching, or getting text updates and hearing stories. But to have everyone there, to have my niece, Ella, and my nephew Miles and Brett... is really special. Just to be able to see them cheering and encouraging me to keep going with huge.," says Pumphrey.
Once she arrived to the finish line at the Inner Harbor, she was greeted with an overwhelming scene.
"As I rounded turn into the Harbor Place, and saw so many people at the finish with signs and cheering, it was just unbelievable. I was hoping people would come out and Baltimore showed up," says Pumphrey
Since the history making achievement, Pumphrey's been overjoyed with positive messages saying how much of an inspiration she is to so many, including young girls. But, her biggest takeaway from this swim has nothing to do with her and everything to do with where she lives.
"I really hope this swim highlights how amazing Baltimore is. How beautiful this city is. How much history there is here and how much is happening. There has been amazing things here for a long time and more amazing things are happening and I hope you will continue to support and celebrate Baltimore," says Pumphrey.
As far as what is next for Pumphrey, her turnaround time for her next swim is a bit accelerated. She will be traveling to California for a swim July 28 going from Catalina island to Los Angeles, a 21-mile swim.
