Lewis Pugh Swims the Hudson to Save Rivers and Oceans
British ocean advocate Lewis Pugh took a break from his swim of the Hudson River to speak with President Weinman and Dan Shapley of Riverkeeper, along with students and faculty. Credit: Emma Denes '25
According to the indigenous definition, the Mahicantuck, or Hudson River, contains “great waters in constant motion.” And for the past month, another vital force has been in motion with it: Lewis Pugh.
On Sept. 13, the British endurance athlete and environmental advocate completed his swim of the Hudson in New York City after a journey spanning 315 miles of water. Along the way, Pugh stopped for engagements with the media and local communities, including a pit stop at Marist College.
Eight days earlier, on the 24th day of Pugh’s journey, President Kevin C. Weinman and his wife Beth, along with water polo and swim team student-athletes, jumped into the water with him. With the crew team rowing alongside, Weinman and the students swam with Pugh from Quiet Cove Riverfront Park to the Cornell Boathouse at Longview Park, where a crowd of cheering Marist fans was waiting to greet them.
For Weinman, who has seven marathons and nine half-ironman triathlons under his belt, the swim felt like getting back to a part of his old self. “I’m not sure I would have done it if I didn’t have the triathlon experience and swimming of rivers before,” said Weinman, “but I’m really glad that I decided to jump in and that they were accommodating of us.”
Pugh returned to campus later in the afternoon for a conversation with students and faculty, where both he and Weinman were presented with proclamations from Bill O’Neill, Dutchess County executive, in honor of their accomplishments.
As Weinman put it, Pugh’s undertaking is another way to emphasize the college’s front-row seat to the Hudson and its beauty. “It’s a scientific laboratory for science students; our crew team rows on it every day,” he said. “This river is a part of the very fabric of Marist.”
Although Pugh usually adorns a swim cap with the logo of the U.N. Environment Programme, he decided to adopt the school spirit with a Marist-branded cap. Credit: Marist College
From Saltwater to Freshwater
Pugh is not the first to have achieved this momentous feat. That honor belongs to environmental activist Christopher Swain, who swam the length of the Hudson in 2004. But Pugh is the first to complete the swim unassisted, with no mechanized devices of any kind.
Still, it helps that Pugh boasts an impressive resume, as he is the first person to have completed a long-distance swim in every ocean. Perhaps the Hudson seems like a modest achievement compared to his previous swims, including Mt. Everest’s Lake Pumori and the North Pole.
Even as a self-described saltwater animal at heart, Pugh has found that tackling a river like the Hudson is the perfect gateway to inspiring ocean conservation. “I realized, in so many years of campaigning, that it’s really difficult to get people to be passionate about cleaning up the ocean because almost everybody is really close to a river. And we can imagine cleaning up a river mile by mile,” he said.
Pugh works to protect 71% of the planet’s surface in his position as U.N. Patron of the Oceans. Through his philanthropic foundation, he advocates for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas and the 30x30 initiative, which aims to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030.
Pugh arrived in Manhattan, home to the U.N. Headquarters, just in time for the opening of the signing of the high seas treaty — a global agreement aimed at conserving the ocean waters that reach beyond any nation’s jurisdiction.
“For me, this is an issue of justice between ourselves and the animal kingdom and a question of justice between ourselves and future generations,” said Pugh. “We have to leave a habitable planet to our children and grandchildren.”
That planet is becoming even less habitable for life that thrives in freshwater habitats. Take the Atlantic sturgeon, for instance — an ancient species that has lived on Earth for the past 120 million years.
These fish live in the ocean but reproduce and lay eggs in the Hudson and remain an endangered species. This interconnection between saltwater and freshwater ecosystems was further emphasized by Dan Shapley — senior director of advocacy, policy and planning for local nonprofit Riverkeeper — who was also part of the conversation at Marist.
“There’s this amazing system of life just below the surface that we can’t see, but it is our responsibility to protect,” said Shapley.
A River Worth Saving
As Pugh sees it, the Hudson is the perfect role model for bringing a river back from the brink. For three decades, it served as a dumping ground for industrial chemicals, making it one of the largest contaminated Superfund sites in the country.
But thanks to the work of grassroots advocacy, the tide began to turn. Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, founded by folk musician Pete Seeger in 1966, is credited with bringing attention to the river’s plight and helping pass the Clean Water Act.
The Hudson was recently saved from further contamination. Just last month, New York Gov. Kathy Hocul signed a bill preventing the discharge of nuclear waste by Holtec International, who owns the now-decommissioned Indian Point power plant in nearby Westchester County.
But overall, the Hudson is a much safer body of water than it was previously. According to annual data, 80% of river samples indicate waters safe for swimming. But the forces of climate change now need to be taken into account.
Since the river is an estuary — it ends in the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in a mix of fresh and saltwater — tidal waves are present. And as sea levels rise in response to the effects of global warming, so too does the Hudson, at a rate of 4.5 millimeters per year.
A higher Hudson might result in more sewage overflows. But it might also result in more sodium-rich (and corrosive) water, which is alarming news for the seven communities who rely on the river for drinking water. This includes the City and Town of Poughkeepsie, whose joint water treatment plant is on the Marist campus.
According to Shapley, managing the effects of climate change on the Hudson requires both cooling off the planet and adapting to the times — by constructing critical riverside infrastructure, for example.
“We have to both limit them by reducing our emissions, reining in global warming at the source of the pollution, but also understand that some of these changes are baked in, and we have to prepare,” said Shapley.
At the end of the day (or eventually at the end of four very long weeks), Pugh’s advice to Marist students was simple: “Protecting the planet is the defining issue of our generation. My message to the young students is — please, don’t wait. Don’t wait for permission to help change the world.”