Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

It is always a joy to see the very best in any sport perform.

In the heat of the game, they can remain cool, calm and collected.

Which is what former world champion Charles ‘Chip’ Peterson is known for.

Watching this talented and intelligent young man compete is always humbling and educational. His navigational IQ and situational awareness are at the highest levels of the sport.

In the photo above at the 2014 USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships in Castaic Lake, Peterson not only turns over in the middle of a double-stacked 4-wide as the pace is fierce to open a gel pack and consume its contents as he kicks furiously to keep up. Immediately after he sucked down the gel pack, he was back swimming normally without a loss in position.

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association