50 To Swim Straits for Bridge Anniversary

Fifty swimmers will attempt to swim across the Straits of Mackinac this Labor Day to celebrate the Mackinac Bridge's 50th anniversary.

In a ceremonial swim led by world record-setting Great Lakes swimmer Jim Dreyer, solo swimmers and a three-person relay team will challenge the often turbulent four-mile Strait that connects lakes Michigan and Huron, swimming along the east side of the famous bridge completed in 1957 to connect Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

The swimmers will enter the water at 6:15 a.m. September 3 at the foot of the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace, and hope to finish at the Old Mackinac Lighthouse in Mackinaw City. Swimmers will have until noon to complete the quest.

"Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and I first discussed the concept for this swim while we were running across the Mackinac Bridge in the annual Bridge Run and Walk last Labor Day," Mr. Dreyer said. "Since then, I have been organizing this event with the Michigan Department of Transportation, recruiting some fine athletes, and am pleased that the Mighty Mac 50th Anniversary Swim will become a reality."

The swim will run concurrently with the Bridge Walk, an annual event that draws 60,000 participants.

"This will truly be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime event that will be talked about for the next 50 years," Mr. Dreyer added. "Everyone who has ever crossed the Mackinac Bridge in a car has wondered what it would be like to try to swim the Straits if there were not a bridge. Few have ever seen a single person do it, let alone 50. This will be epic."

While the swim promises to be spectacular from an athletic and historical perspective, the swim also serves as a fundraiser for Mentor Michigan, a program of the Michigan Community Service Commission created by Governor Granholm and First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern, and supported by Jim Dreyer as a Governor's appointee to the Mentor Michigan Leadership Council.

Mentor Michigan is an umbrella organization for nearly 200 mentoring programs throughout the state, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the cause Mr. Dreyer has supported since 1998 with his Great Lakes swims.

Mr. Dreyer believes the accomplishment of swimming across the Straits of Mackinac will leave a lasting impression on this group of swimmers he refers to as Team Dire Straits.

"These swimmers will never look at the Straits of Mackinac the same way again … and they will have a great story to tell everyone in the car whenever they drive across the Mackinac Bridge."

Mr. Dreyer knows about the Straits of Mackinac. He set the distance record for the Straits by swimming 40 miles with multiple crossings in 2006.

"The team is made up of triathletes, marathon swimmers, and fitness swimmers who are used to pushing themselves to be their best, and they have been working extremely hard to prepare for the unique challenge of swimming the Straits of Mackinac," Mr. Dreyer said. "Most admirably, while they have been working toward fulfilling a personal dream, they have also been working equally as hard to fulfill the dreams of children, by raising funds to support the mission of Mentor Michigan. I strongly encourage the public to go to my Web site (www.SwimJimSwim.org), read about these swimmers, and help them reach their fundraising goals by making online contributions on their behalf."