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A woman is swimming from the Bay Bridge to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Here's why

Katie Pumphrey started her 24-mile swim early Tuesday.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland woman embarked on a 24-mile swim starting at Sandy Point State Park near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, aiming to reach Harborplace Amphitheater in Baltimore's Inner Harbor along the Patapsco River on Tuesday. Katie Pumphrey, an artist and ultramarathon swimmer, called the swim a love letter to Baltimore. 

Pumphrey began her swim at around 3 a.m. and is expected to finish by 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Pumphrey worked with several organizations to make the swim possible, and has a full team of support with her in boats, making sure she stops for water and food. If she completes the swim, she would be the first to do it.

The swim serves as a celebration of the decades-long clean up efforts to make the Baltimore Harbor swimmable, and a safe recreational resource for the city, Pumphrey said. 

"I have lived in Baltimore for 20 years and I have been dreaming about this swim for such a long time. I love this city & the amazing community here. I can’t wait to do a swim of this scale at home," she said.

You can track the Bay to Baltimore swim here.

Pumphrey is no novice when it comes to these types of swims. She swam the English Channel twice in 2015 and 2022. She has also swum around Manhattan and the Catalina Channel in California. 

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