Swimmers make a splash in Sitka

Sisters swimmers Kris Calvin and Chris Tujo dived into a chilly challenge earlier this month, participating in the Sitka Sound 10K Adventure Swim.

The 6.2-mile adventure swim took place on August 8 and was a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association.

Calvin won the race, and Tujo came in second, close behind. There were six participants in the 10K portion and another swimmer swam in a 5K course that found him suffering from hypothermia. He had to be pulled from the water.

This was the first long-distance ocean swim event ever held in Sitka, and only the second such event in Alaska.

Calvin, a native Alaskan, now a longtime Sisters resident, trains with Tujo at Sisters Athletic Club. He persuaded Tujo to make the trip.

"At first I thought to myself, 'I don't really want to do that,'" Tujo told The Nugget. "As I thought about it more and more, I thought it would be an incredible experience to see that landscape up there."

An incredible experience it was. He swam in the same water with seals and humpback whales and got in three days of fishing - catching a king salmon and 150-pound halibut.

Tujo, 39, works out regularly at Sisters Athletic Club and is an active member of COMA - Central Oregon Masters Association. He's been swimming since he was six and just recently started swimming in open-water events.

"It's a very freeing moment to get out in the open water," he said. "It's just you and the water, one-on-one."