Portland Bridge Swim

Swim 11 Miles Through Downtown Portland

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12 Bridges

11 Miles

100 Swimmers

~ 70 Degrees

Welcome

Heading into its ninth year, the Portland Bridge Swim is a marathon swimming race through the heart of Portland, Oregon. Part nature experience, part sight-seeing tour and all physical & mental challenge. The swim is open to solo swimmers and 3-person relay teams. Proceeds benefit Willamette Riverkeeper.
We are proud to host the 2019 US Masters Swimming Ultramarathon-Distance Open Water National Championship.
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The Course

Start: Sellwood Riverfront Park
Finish: Cathedral Park

The Portland Bridge Swim course is approximately 11 miles (17 km) with the current. Swimmers will enter the water at Sellwood Riverfront Park (SE 7th Ave & Miller St, Portland), swim South under the Sellwood Bridge, pass around the bridge pylons and swim North along the East side of the river. The course runs under all 12 of Portland’s Willamette River bridges, through downtown and beyond. Swimmers will pass under the St. John’s bridge and exit the water via the boat ramp in Cathedral Park (N Edison & Pittsburg Ave, Portland).

Safety

The nuts and bolts of our safety plan: To ensure that entrants are capable of completing the swim safely, a qualifying swim will be required upon entry. Swimmers must show that they have completed a 5000 m or 5500 yd swim within 1 hour, 40 minutes. The swim can be in a pool or still (ie. no current assist) open water. Time must be verified by an observer but it does not have to be an organized swim. The number of entrants will be capped at 100 so that organizers can safely track swimmers. The Portland Bridge Swim will be held in the Willamette River. The Swim will begin at Sellwood …

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Registration

Registration for 2019 is open!

REGISTER HERE

Race Date: Sunday July 7, 2019
Registration Opens: January 1st, 2019

Registration closes: either when the swim has reached capacity at 100 entries or  June 30, 2019 at 4:59 PM, whichever occurs first.  Additional swimmers wishing to register if capacity is reached before June 30 will be added to a waitlist.

All swimmers must have a valid US Masters Swimming membership.  One-event memberships are available for purchase for relay swimmers only. Because the solo race is the 2019 USMS Ultramarathon-Distance Open Water National Championship, solo swimmers must be full members of US Masters Swimming.

CHANGES TO THE QUALIFYING SWIM:

For better seeding, Solo Swimmers must complete a 5000 meter/5500 yard swim in 1:40 or less within the last 18 months.

All members of a relay team must complete a 1500 meter/1650 yard qualifying swim in 35 minutes or less within the last 18 months.

These swims can be in a pool or still open water, ie. no current assist. A qualifying swim time with date and location of the swim will be required to complete registration.

For additional logistical and other information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.