The Chicago River Swim, presented by the city of Chicago and Mayor Brandon Johnson, is a charitable open-water event held along the main stem of the Chicago River.
Launched in 2025, the inaugural event brought 263 swimmers into the river for Chicago's first organized open-water swim in 98 years and attracted international attention to the city's transformed waterway.
For 2026, the city expanded the field from 500 to 750 qualified swimmers, reopening registration for a limited number of participants in the 1- and 2-mile events.
Participants will enter the river in small groups throughout the morning. Each registered jumper will receive a personal swim buoy, robe, commemorative T-shirt, lunch and a goodie bag. Registration is available at chicagoriverswim.org.
ABC7 Chicago will stream the swim live on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 6:30 to 10 a.m.
Hosted by Greg Dutra and Jasmine Minor, the broadcast will showcase swimmers participating in 1- and 2-mile events along the main stem of the Chicago River and feature interviews with athletes, civic leaders and other special guests throughout the morning. Audiences can watch on ABC7Chicago.com, Disney+ under the Live tab by selecting ABC7 Chicago and ABC7's Connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku.
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