Adirondack Sports August 2023

24 Adirondack Sports
ATHLETE
PROFILE
HIS END GOAL IN
NEW YORK CITY.
Lewis
Pugh
Hudson River Swim 2023
By Kristen Hislop
I look for swims where I can carry
a powerful message. No message,
no swim. I don’t get wet now
unless it’s for a reason.
–Lewis Pugh
Many of Adirondack Sports readers
recreate in the rivers and lakes in
upstate New York. We have a fleeting
thought about the quality of the water
as we embark on the swim portion of
a triathlon, pull out the paddleboard,
wade in to fish or kayak some rapids. We
are blessed with many clean freshwater
lakes that feed the rivers that have carried
us and supported our economies
over the years. People have inhabited
this area since the last ice age and for
thousands of years tribes like the Lenape
lived in harmony with the environment.
In 1609 Henry Hudson first ventured
up what is now known as the Hudson
River. After him, many others came using
the river as inspiration for art and power
for industry. Those of us who live and play
in the area know that over the years the
pristine waters of the Hudson have been
contaminated and polluted.
AGE: 53
HOME: Plymouth, England
WIFE: Antoinette Malherbe
OCCUPATION: Maritime Lawyer
and Environmental Advocate
SPORTS: Endurance Swimming;
Running
In 1896 what would become the
General Motors plant in North Tarrytown
began making automobiles and, in the
process, dumping industrial waste into
the river. In the early 1900s the Anaconda
Wire and Cable Company belched waste
into the river. Further upstream, Penn
Central Railroad was dumping oil and
lubricants into the water, killing wildlife
and tainting beaches. Paper mills along
the Hudson discharged pulpy sludge in
Rensselaer County, and in Newburgh,
sprawling junkyards contaminated soil
and river alike. Down in Manhattan, city
sewers hauled tens of millions of gallons
of sewage directly into the water.
Between 1947 and 1977, General
Electric polluted the Hudson River by
discharging polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) causing a range of harmful effects
to wildlife and people who eat fish from
HUDSON SWIM START
IN LAKE TEAR OF
THE CLOUDS.
the river. In 1972 the Clean Water Act
made it illegal to discharge pollutants,
whether liquids or solids, into waterways
without permits.
The environmental organization,
Riverkeeper, has assessed the progress
toward meeting the “swimmable” goal by
measuring water quality in the Hudson
and its tributaries. As of now about 80%
of samples taken from the Hudson meet
Environmental Protection Agency criteria
for safe recreation.
That’s good news for someone who
says, “If we want healthy oceans, we also
need healthy rivers – it’s that simple.”
According to Lewis Pugh, the Hudson
River is unique. At its source the crystal-clear
waters support bears, beavers
and venomous snakes. Then, 315 miles
downstream is one of the most vibrant
cities in the world and at the mouth,
the Statue of Liberty. This is why Lewis
has undertaken yet a record-breaking
swim. The 53-year-old from Plymouth,
England is swimming the length of the
Hudson River.
He started on August 13th at Lake Tear
of the Clouds in the Adirondacks. Over the
course of a month, he will swim up to five
hours a day; two hours at daybreak and
another three before sundown. Where
there are rapids and waterfalls, he will hit
the river banks and run. On Sept. 13, he
will complete the swim at Battery Park, at
the southern tip of Manhattan.
As the United Nations Environment
Programme Patron of the Oceans, he will
arrive in time for the UN Secretary General’s
Climate Ambition Summit and Climate
Week NYC 2023. As world leaders gather
Lewis wants to show that, “the Hudson
River is one river that can speak for all rivers.”
As Lewis says, “the Hudson tells a story
of how a river can be misused and damaged,
then cared for by a citizenry passionate
about turning the fate of its river around.”
The Hudson can showcase how other rivers
around the world can be cleaned up.