Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Chicago

Chicago man jumps into Lake Michigan for 365th straight day

Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake to relieve stress

Associated Press
Published
close
Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for June 12 Video

Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for June 12

Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.

A Chicago bus driver looking for a way to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic jumped into Lake Michigan for a 365th straight day on Saturday.

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," shares a "High-5" with one of his well-wishers after his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point. 

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," shares a "High-5" with one of his well-wishers after his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point.  (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)

Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city’s North Side last year to relieve stress.

"It was during the pandemic, it was during the protest, it was during an election year. ... So it was somewhere where I could come down here and block all that noise out and kind of be totally present with me in the lake, and find some moments of Zen," said the father of three.

MASSACHUSETTS LOBSTER DIVER SURVIVES BEING SWALLOWED BY WHALE: 'I WAS COMPLETELY INSIDE'

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," reacts after making his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point. 

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," reacts after making his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point.  (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)

He continued jumping into the lake through the fall before the hard part: Hacking a hole in the ice on the frozen lake that was big enough for him to jump through during the winter. He said when he got home after one such jump, he found about 20 scrapes and cuts on his body.

He was encouraged by the response he got for his undertaking.

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," makes his way through a tunnel for his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point. 

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," makes his way through a tunnel for his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point.  (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)

"People started asking me what this was benefiting and how they could support — and when I say people, I’m talking strangers online, you know. When I started posting the videos on Twitter and Instagram ... I got more wind in my sails there because people started commenting like, ‘This makes my day, it’s nice to see this,’" he said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," makes his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point.

Dan O'Conor, the "Great Lake Jumper," makes his 365th leap into Lake Michigan, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Chicago's Montrose Point. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)

Saturday was special because it was the culmination of doing it for a full year.

"I just wanted to celebrate just that drive to dive for 365," O’Conor said.