Swimming into the sunset in the Hudson with Manhattan Skyline
North Cove Marina before the swim start, Peace dedication
Wind against tide at Brooklyn Bridge in the East River
East River, nearing the United Nations
Harlem River - bridge no 18 coming up
Hudson River, approaching George-Washington-Bridge - no 20
Swells again at the end of the swim in the Hudson
Sharing the Peace Torch with kayaker Dasha and helpers Jamini and Pipasa
Lighting the Peace Torch at the United Nations the day after the swim
On Sept. 12, 2025, Vasanti Niemz, a Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team member from Heidelberg, Germany, became the oldest woman to complete the iconic 20 Bridges marathon swim around Manhattan Island at age 68, in a time of 9 hours 34 minutes. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of her first open water marathon swim, an English Channel solo on Sept.9, 1985, she dedicated the swim to Peace and the ideals of the United Nations in honour of their 80th anniversary.
"Swimming around Manhattan was an old dream of mine," she explains. But only since a few years, when the swim started to be organised in smaller groups of similar speed by New York Open Water (NYOW), did slower swimmers also get a realistic chance to complete the 48,5 km (28,5 mile) challenge, which has to be timed well with the tidal currents.
The inspiration to sign up came after a DNF in the English Channel September 2024, when Vasanti's third EC solo was aborted after less than 8 hours for safety reasons by the pilot near the separation zone in the middle of the Channel, because the wind had picked up more than predicted against a strong current, and 5 more Channel boats decided to turn round at the same time. Swimming around Manhattan is considerably easier than swimming the English Channel and less weather dependend, but it has its own challenges - and beauty. Tidal currents are powerful around Manhattan, but they carry you, if timed correctly. However, especially at the beginning into the East River and at the end in the Hudson a strong headwind plus chaotic waves from boats, ferries and jet skies can make the swim quite "interesting" with big swells and lots of chop.
Of course it is very special to go on such a "sightseeing tour" around the Big Apple from the water, and particularly so with so many memories from over 40 years of visiting New York, running the NYC marathon, participating and performing in the Peace Meditations at the United Nations, remembering carrying the Peace Torch in so many Peace Runs starting or ending at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in front of the UN with UN ambassadors etc.
On the day of the swim, swimmer, helpers and kayaker were taken by boat from the North Cove Marina down to Pier A in Lower Manhattan, where the swim started around 10:20 am into a nice sunny day, along with another slightly faster swimmer from Brazil with her own support team. Water temperature was 22-23 °C, air similar. No ferries were crossing the path, which would have meant either sprinting or waiting, but turning from the Hudson at the tip of Manhattan into the East River the wind picked up and the swells were considerable.
The first 2-3 hours are crucial. If the swimmer cannot stay on schedule and keep up the predicted speed, we were told, the swim can be aborted early, because tides would be missed. Vasanti was aware and focused, using "PEACE" and "GRATITUDE" as mantras, basically throughout the swim, just swimming as calmly and powerfully as possible without worrying about the conditions. At the United Nations a friend working there came out to cheer us (swims can be followed online via a tracker) - but remained invisible from the water. Still it was nice to know someone was there, especially as the water outside the UN was quite "troubled" - what a metaphor!
Towards Wards and Randalls Island, where our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team used to have multi-day-races for a number of years, and into the Harlem River the water became calmer - calmer even than Lake Zurich! And we were ahead of schedule, what a boost! The 15 bridges of the Harlem River started flying by! Feeding rhythm was every 30 minutes from the kayak, all very easy-going. At the Spuyten Duyvils swing bridge, where the Harlem River meets the Hudson, our kayaker needed a short break, but when we tried to wait for her the current just pushed us gently through the open bridge into the vastness of the mighty Hudson. It was so incredibly calm and welcoming - just peace and freedom! And we were one hour ahead of schedule.
45 minutes later we passed under George Washington Bridge, the last intermediate goal, again faster than expected. From here it is just downhill - or not?
Towards Lower Manhattan, into the sunset, the wind started to pick up again against the current, as per the forecast, and for the last hour or so the water become quite choppy again with bigger swells. Warm miso soup and some ginger tea with honey helped during the last few hours. And it seemed like everyone enjoyed the journey into the sunset with the glittering lights of the Manhattan and Jersey skylines - and some bioluminescence in the waves towards the end for the swimmer.
Green saftety lights were attached to swimmer and kayak for the last few miles. And then Pier A came again faster than expected, to enthusiastic cheers by onlookers along the dark promenade. Finish time 9 hours 34 minutes - over an hour ahead of our official schedule and more than 2 hours earlier than we had been prepared for, just in case. Thanks to great currents :)
The next day, Vasanti took a friend's spare bike by subway into Manhattan, to bike from Pier A with the Peace Torch to the UN and potentially all the way around Manhattan. (The idea was a symbolic triathlon, but it did not happen.) Due to gear problems, she just enjoyed a different kind of leisurely sightseeing along part of the swim route along the Hudson and East River and lit the Peace Torch at the United Nations for a moment of silence and a prayer for peace. Since it was a weekend, there were no flags and no visitors allowed inside. Then she biked back to the Hudson to finish the loop. Moderate biking is definitely a great recovery activity after a long swim!
The English Channel and Manhattan 20 Bridges are part of the "Triple Crown of Open Water", the third "crown" being Catalina Channel in California. This may be the next goal. One enthusiastic helper already volonteered. Wish us luck :)
More photos in the slider above. See also the report with some more photos on https://www.peacerun.org/us/news/2025/0912/5606/
And a short video:
New York Open Water: https://www.nyopenwater.org/