Katie Pumphrey completed a 24-mile swim from the Bay Bridge to the Inner Harbor on Tuesday. Photographers from The Baltimore Banner were along for the ride (in a support boat).
Here’s what they saw:
Pumphrey waves to her supports on an adjacent boat as she begins the ride to her starting point at Sandy Point State Park. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey is silhouetted at the marina as she prepares for a long night of swimming ahead. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Katie's support team puts sunblock and wax on her to keep her comfortable for her swim. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey peers into the water before jumping in and swimming to shore at Sandy Point. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey wades in the water right before she dives in to begin the 24 mile journey. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Illuminated by glow sticks, Pumphrey starts her swim at 3:19am. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Despite the fact that Pumphrey didn't sleep much the night before her big swim, she took off quickly into the night. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) The sun rose at around 5:45am as Pumphrey swam. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Supporters of Pumphrey joined on two boats to keep pace on either side of her throughout the journey. The boat included Bobby LaPin from Sail Local, two Baltimore Banner reporters, a documentary crew from "Boob Sweat" and her physical therapist. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey averaged 52 strokes per minute while swimming. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey swam between a support boat and a kayak, which her brother Sean is navigating here. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey takes a second, and only a second, to breathe in the middle of the bay. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Support clowns cheer Katie Pumphrey on. The support clowns' backstory is in reference to a commenter on social media who was defending Katie's mission to swim to naysayers. The commenter didn't use punctuation, so when he meant to say that "she needs support, clowns!", he really typed, "she needs support clowns" and hence "support clowns" were born. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey's niece Nayev Pumphrey kayaks next to Katie as the skyline comes into view. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Support boats pass snacks back and forth to each other. They included Oreoes, Cheese-Its, turkey sandwiches made by Katie's husband, water, soft drinks and candy. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey's arm splashes out of the water as she swims towards the Key Bridge. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey gives the rock-on hand sign as her supporters cheer for her. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey took a "feed" break every 30 minutes for five minutes to hydrate and eat "Gu," a sports nutrition packet. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey's arm splashes into the water, which was a warm 82 degrees. Not ideal, since Pumphrey prefers it to be 66 degrees. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey averaged about two miles per hour. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) A support clown cheers Katie on. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey had two support swimmers with her for an hour each time to help motivate and push her to keep swimming. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) As the city skyline came into view, Pumphrey made a heart with her hands. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey's husband, Joe, gives the thumbs-up as she enters the Inner Harbor. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey smiles as the sun hits her face. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Friends from ABC Arundel Breakfast Club, a swimming group, sail out to meet Katie and cheer for her. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey wears a swim cap that identifies her as a member of the Marathon Swimmers Federation. Before this swim, Pumphrey swam the English Channel twice. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey swam towards the remnants of the Key Bridge. Donations from the bridge went to the Maryland Strong fund. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey's friends and family cheer for her from the Urban Pirates Ship that sailed out to meet her by Fort McHenry. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey points to people cheering for her. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey turns and looks back at her support system as Fort McHenry comes into view. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) The support teams all wore matching t-shirts to motivate Katie. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey told jokes and laughed each time she took a small break. Right after she would immediately go back into "go mode." (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Mr. Trash Wheel follows Pumphrey into the harbor. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Hundreds of people formed a welcoming committee with signs of praise as Pumphrey swam to her end point. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Spectators on the roof of Morgan Stanley watch as Pumphrey swims by. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) People could make signs for Katie before she arrived and many took advantage of the opportunity. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) People cheered, cried, yelled and screamed as Pumphrey came into view. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Madison Short holds a sign that says "Chesapeake Bae" for Pumphrey. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) After about 14 hours of swimming, Pumphrey touches her end point, the Inner Harbor. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Tired and exhausted, Pumphrey falls down while receiving love from her friends and family. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey got off the boat and was met with a swarm of people; media, loved ones, friends, fans and spectators all ran to hug her, high-five her, and get a photo with her. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Hugs all around. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Joy all around. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey looks at the spectators cheering as she prepares to leave the Harbor. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Pumphrey cries and hugs her husband in a burst of emotion after finishing the swim. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner) Skin and fingers pruny from spending so much time in the water, Katie puts her hand to her face and she looks at the hundreds of supporters cheering for her after her historic swim. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)