Categories newsmakers | 1990sPosted on

Christopher Swain ’90

Christopher Swain '90 was featured on CNN.com when he reached the Pacific Ocean on July 1, 2003, completing his 1,243-mile swim of the Columbia River. Swain, a self-described "advocacy swimmer," first attracted notice for his 1996 Connecticut River Swim for Universal Human Rights. "Professors like Joyce Lowrie, Richard Slotkin, George Creeger, and Jeanine Basinger convinced me that it was worth putting my life on the line for the greater good," he says. Swain, who began this journey on June 4, 2002, braved such extreme conditions as 38-degree F water-temperatures as well as bacterial, chemical, and radioactive pollutants. He is the first person in history to swim the entire length of the Columbia, and observes that clean water is not only an environmental issue, but a human rights issue, as well. For his efforts, he also received the International Earth Day Award from the United Nations.
Christopher Swain ’90 was featured on CNN.com when he reached the Pacific Ocean on July 1, 2003, completing his 1,243-mile swim of the Columbia River. Swain, a self-described “advocacy swimmer,” first attracted notice for his 1996 Connecticut River Swim for Universal Human Rights. “Professors like Joyce Lowrie, Richard Slotkin, George Creeger, and Jeanine Basinger convinced me that it was worth putting my life on the line for the greater good,” he says. Swain, who began this journey on June 4, 2002, braved such extreme conditions as 38-degree F water-temperatures as well as bacterial, chemical, and radioactive pollutants. He is the first person in history to swim the entire length of the Columbia, and observes that clean water is not only an environmental issue, but a human rights issue, as well. For his efforts, he also received the International Earth Day Award from the United Nations.