Many of us have crossed the Mackinac Bridge in our travels, but two Copper Country residents, 16 year-old, Aya Keteri and her Aunt Laurie Smith swam the 4.5 miles, south to north, starting in Mackinaw City the end of July. The swimmers straddle the side of the bridge and swim towards St. Ignace. On average, it is more than two-and-a-half hours of open water swimming alongside one of the world’s longest suspension bridges. The swimmers were greeted with a haze from the Canadian wildfires at sunrise, but ideal conditions with the water recording at 70°. The event raises money for the Mackinaw City and St. Ignace Fire Departments, with it being close to $100,000 this year. Each participant gets a handmade finisher medal made from the steel of the Mackinac Bridge, made by event organizer, ‘Splash Coordinator’ Eric Hansen. Safety is a top priority, as you can see in today’s photos from Eric Stewart, the swimmers wore required wetsuits, swim buoys and assigned caps. There were volunteer teams of personal boats and kayaks along the way should any swimmer need help and the US Coast Guard was also on hand, as they closed the shipping lane beneath the bridge during the swim. Of course First Responders stood ready to provide emergency support, also. To qualify for the challenging swim, participants had to demonstrate a 40 minute mile swim time, recorded by either GPS or timed by a lifeguard. All 266 swimmers, ages 16 to 81, reached the “I did it line” at Bridge View Park in St. Ignace by 11 a.m., with the fastest swimmers making it across in 90 minutes.

All I can say is WOW! I think I’ll stick to driving over the bridge, myself, as I don’t think the doggy paddle swim technique would get me very far.

MLive has great coverage of the event, which gives you a better perspective of the massive undertaking it really was to swim in this event. Kudos to all the swimmers, especially the two Copper Country swimmers, Aya and Laurie!

I wonder if the current under the bridge makes it more difficult.

Hi
Wow, what a unique experience! The video showed one
participant stroking past one of the bridge pillars
while cars droned by overhead.

Mary, you mentioned that the water temperature was
good; they were also fortunate that the water was
calm.

Holy wha!~ I'd watch...that's all she wrote.
Congrats CC Ladies!~

Where's Katy Ledecki or Summer McIntosh? Two of the
world's bestest swimmers.....just wow.

Wow! I'm not a very good swimmer, so
that would be out for me. Though I'd
love to be there in that water. Good
for them. Love these photos.

Hi
Deb S., I consider myself a good swimmer--I can go
half a mile without stopping---but obviously these
folks are at a whole other level.

Donna, it'd be interesting to see if the Olympic
swimmers would be good at or enjoy this type of
swim. In the book "Great Lakes Shipwrecks and
Survivals", it was noted that a feeling of being
at home in the water was a plus in surviving; and
that champion swimmers may or may not have that.
Big difference from a swimming pool.