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Sarah Dobbin didn’t give it a second thought before jumping feet-first into the Ottawa River early Thursday morning, confident in her ability to swim 50 kilometres by day’s end.
The fact that she’d never swum that far before — even in training — was no deterrent.
“I’ve always said I could swim all day, so I’m going to try,” the 50-year-old told CBC before plunging into the water behind Parliament Hill.
Fifteen hours later, she had succeeded. Dobbin swam downstream, ending her journey in Wendover, Ont., just past Rockland, where she was greeted with applause by fans who followed her on social media and through an online tracker.
She swam at a pace of about 3 km/h, stopping every 35 minutes to refuel with food and replenish her electrolytes.
“I feel exhausted but elated,” she said with a triumphant smile after emerging from the water and walking ashore unassisted.
Making it official
Minutes before she arrived, friends and family members urged the crowd to keep a healthy distance from Dobbin and to refrain from helping her out of the water.
It’s one of the rules set out by the Marathon Swimmers Federation (MSF), which Dobbin was following in an effort to make this the first officially documented swim of its kind in the Ottawa River.
Dobbin was also not allowed to touch the boat that followed alongside as she swam, and could not wear a wetsuit.
“It’s really interesting to carve out these new routes because when you think about something like the English Channel, for example, it took one person to do it and then it became an iconic swim after that,” she said. “Maybe this will turn into one of the world’s iconic swims someday.”
Dobbin’s mother Kathy was there to meet her when she finished.
“She’s trained and worked very hard for it,” she said. “I’m just really struck by all the support she’s getting across the city and around the countryside, and she really deserves it…. I’m very proud of her.”
Ottawa Riverkeeper CEO Laura Reinsborough shared that sentiment. Along with carving out a new path in the river, Dobbin’s goal was to raise money for the organization.
“She’s been raising awareness about this incredible river system, how swimmable it is, but also the need for everybody to protect it,” Reinsborough said. “She’s making a huge impact today.”
A big deal in Wendover
“I think she’s doing something really nice for Ottawa,” said Wendover resident Nathalie Tougas. “Coming all the way down from the Parliament Hill to here, I think it’s a big thing. And also to stop in our little town, I think that’s amazing.”
For Tougas’s nine-year-old son Jonathan, swimming 50 kilometres is an exciting feat.
“I want to see her because it’s a big event,” he said. “She’s a good swimmer, and I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Dobbin said the toughest part wasn’t the physical challenge, but the mental one.
“Just pushing through all the mental sort of stuff that was going on … wanting to give up multiple times,” she said. But the encouragement from strangers along the way helped her through.
“There were some incredible moments where it just like really spurred you on, like all of the ferries lining up at the Cumberland Ferry, all tooting their horns at me,” she said. “I’m so grateful for all the support.”
