Swimming for American Rivers

American adventure swimmer Matt Moseley completed a 47.5 mile descent of the Colorado River from Moab to the confluence with Green River on Wednesday 29 July.

The swim, which took 13:56:20, was the first solo swim of this stretch of the river.
The straight line distance between Moab and the confluence is around 32 miles but the actual distance is nearly 50 per cent longer due to the meandering path of the river.
Moseley, who previously became the first person to swim solo across Lake Pontchartrain, used the swim to raise awareness for the conservation organisation American Rivers, which has named the Colorado among America’s most endangered rivers for the past three years.
“The Colorado River is facing serious threats, and Moseley’s extraordinary personal and physical effort helps signal to users of the Colorado Basin that we are all in this together,” says Matt Rice, Director of the Colorado Basin Program at American Rivers.
Earlier this year, Moseley also became the first person to swim from the Island of Culebra to Fajardo, Puerto Rico, a distance of 24 miles, to raise awareness for the Scuba Dogs Society and their work to clean up coral reefs.
“The swim was done as a celebration for the hard work and remarkable accomplishments of American Rivers. I want to say thank you to everyone who helped make my dream a reality,” says Moseley. “Being the first person to accomplish this swim is not only a milestone in my own life, but it is a humbling experience to know how many people supported me along the way.”