Katie Pumphrey, 37, is an American ultra marathon open water swimmer and interdisciplinary visual artist. She lives and works in Baltimore, MD.

On June 25th 2024, Katie Pumphrey became the first person to complete the BAY TO BALTIMORE SWIM, a 24-mile swim from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Pumphrey’s history-making Bay to Baltimore swim in support and celebration for the decades-long clean up efforts to make the Baltimore Harbor swimmable and a safe recreational resource for the city. Pumphrey continues to be involved in these efforts, recently founding the nonprofit Baltimore Open Water Swimmers (BOWS), and speaking at the Swimmable Cities Summit, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Pumphrey recently joined as a signatory to the global Swimmable Cities Charter, and now serves as a Swimmable Cities Ambassador.

Other notable swims include three English Channel swims (2015, 2022, 2025), as well as around the island of Manhattan (2017) and the Catalina Channel (2018, 2024)— those three swims make up the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. Pumphrey was the 194th person (73rd woman) in the world to achieve that honor.

Pumphrey lives and works in Baltimore City, MD.

When not training or coaching other swimmers, Katie is a full-time visual artist. Her paintings and sculptures are deeply connected to her experiences as an athlete, as is her community outreach and advocacy.

Katie lives in Baltimore City, Maryland with her husband Joe and their dog, Adja.