Hundreds participate in Great Ohio River Swim, benefit Adventure Crew nonprofit

Swim caps and goggles were at the ready as hundreds hit the water Sunday morning for the annual Great Ohio River Swim.

The youngest swimmer out there, 10-year-old Annette Keating, said participating in this swim is something to be proud of.

“The world is very big place. Some don’t even know this exists, this happens, but to say that you swam in the Ohio River is like a really cool fact,” she said.

Caroline Keating, the event chair for the Great Ohio River Swim committee, said there are two categories to swim in — the long swim AKA the double dipper and the regular swim.

“Crazy swimmers are going to get in, and we’re going to take them up stream two and a half miles, and they’ll swim down,” she said.

Meanwhile, the regular swim is 900 meters.

“We’ll all jump in at the serpentine wall and swim across to Newport and finish here at the public landing,” she said.

The annual swim holds a special place in the heart of both Caroline and Annette.

“The race is officially called the Bill Keating, Jr. Great Ohio River Swim, and it was renamed after my dad when he passed away seven years ago,” Caroline Keating said. “He was kind of one of the first people that believed in the swim.”

With both Bill's daughter and granddaughter reminiscing on who he was, they say it means the world to them to see the annual event grow each year.

“It’s just good knowing I can carry on a legacy,” Annette Keating said.

The swim also supports Adventure Crew. The nonprofit supplies nature experiences — such as swim lessons, snow boarding, mountain biking and more — to teens at 27 schools in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

The entire registration fee for participants of the Ohio River swim went to the nonprofit to help make their efforts come true.

“It brings the community together around something [they] love, but they also know that they’re helping Cincinnati teenagers get out to do the same things,” said Libby Hunter, executive director of Adventure Crew.

Caroline Keating, who also swam, said one of the most powerful parts of the swim is soaking every moment in — especially when swimmers pause right in the middle of the Ohio River.

“The view of the city is... you’ll never get it anywhere else in the water and sun is coming up, so take a second to just enjoy the beauty of the river and the swim,” she said.

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