Katie Pumphrey is an American ultramarathon open water swimmer and interdisciplinary visual artist from 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 served as a celebration for the decades-long clean up efforts to make the Baltimore Harbor swimmable and a safe recreational resource for the city.

Pumphrey’s has been in the sport of open water swimming for over 16 years, completing hundreds of open water swims and events, including regional favorites like the 4.4mi Chesapeake Bay Swim, 9mi Ocean Games, and the 20.5 mile DC Marathon swim. Other notable swims include Pumphrey’s three successful English Channel swims (2015, 2022, 2025), as well as around the island of Manhattan (2017) and two Catalina Channel swims (2018, 2024). Pumphrey was the 194th person (73rd woman) in the world to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.

An advocate for clean and accessible waterways and a leader in urban swimming, Pumphrey also serves as a Sports Ambassador for the global Swimmable Cities alliance and recently spoke at the inaugural Swimmable Cities Summit in Rotterdam. A lifelong Marylander, Pumphrey has lived in Baltimore City for over 20 years. Founding the nonprofit organization, Baltimore Open Water Swimmers (BOWS) and launching the first ever Baltimore Harbor 1-Mile Swim, Pumphrey looks forward to continuing to support a vibrant and more swimmable future for Baltimore.

Pumphrey is also a professional visual artist. Her large scale paintings and sculptures are deeply connected to swimming, and her experiences as an athlete, as is her community outreach and advocacy. She proudly lives in Baltimore City, with her husband, Joe, and their dog Adja.