Courtesy of Radek Táborský, English Channel.

22 swimmers from the Czech Republic have completed a crossing of the English Channel.

Michael Mrůzek‘s friend Ivan Smolka inspired him to become the 23rd Czech swimmer. “I would not plan to cross myself. After I was able to complete the 36 km Capri-Napoli swim, he came up with the idea to cross the channel.

[Training] is a lot of hard work, but I like it. We eat well before and after swimming. It is a perfect symbiosis.

I swam, swam and swam. But the problem is cold water. This year, when the ice first melted, I dived in [the water]. I only lasted for about ten seconds.

But then [after that day] the water temperatures quickly rose. The water warmed up fast within 14 days so I did not have problems to swim. And it got warmer. By April and May, the water temperature was 20°C. Historically, the water is usually always 13°C or 14°C.

If the water is 15°C to 17°C and there are no 3-meter waves, I believed I could do the crossing.

At the age of 39, [Czech swimmer] František Venclovský crossed the English Channel in 1971 in 15 hours 26 minutes. But the oldest [Czech swimmer] is opera singer Richard Haan who crossed the Channel at the age of 56 in 14 hours 7 seconds. I’m still young.”

Mrůzek successfully completed his English Channel attempt in a fast time of 9 hours 26 minutes. As a 51-year-old, he crossed faster than anyone over the age of 50 years, faster than Dr. Otto Thaning’s 10 hour 29 minute non-GPS crossing as a 53-year-old set in 1994.

Reg Brickell on the Viking Princess escorted the fast masters swimmer.

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