Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Over the years, we have observed and witnessed all kinds of achievements in the open water. These swims are not always record-setting achievements, but simply solo successes by people of various ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Some of these people have shared what they think about to help motivate them through the dark and difficult times as they swim in a race or solo swim or on a relay.
“I imagine that I am on an uninhabited island and I have to get to the other side to save my family,” says a Channel swimmer.
“I think about my children. I say their names over and over again, knowing that I have to be successful and return home for them,” says a marathon swimmer.
“My stomach hurts so much towards the end of the race. The pain is nearly unbearable and I want to quit as much as I want to win,” says an Olympic swimmer.
“I remember what it felt like when I was sick. It was a terrible time. Swimming is a joy. It is a privilege and I enjoy every moment of it, good or bad, says a relay swimmer.
“I know I will face those dark times during the swim. I know I will feel bad. I don’t look forward to those times, but I know that I will rebound and come out of it. But even if the depths of depression eventually lead to the end of the swim, I know that I have pushed myself as far as I can go,” says an ocean swimmer.
“I try not to think. I just pull one arm one right after the other. Again and again. Over and over,” says a Channel swimmer.
“I think I have no choice but to finish. I am either going to go under or finish. And I want to do this again and again, so I am going to finish,” says a marathon swimmer.
“During the swim itself, I ask myself again and again why I am doing this. I do not enjoy the swim itself, but the completion of the swim,” says a Channel swimmer.
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association