“Fue un año inigualable … it was an unmatched year,” describes professional marathon swimmers Vanesa Garcia of Argentina.
The 29-year-old competed on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit and completed the 15 km Maratón Acuática Internactional Ciudad de Rosario (Argentina), the 57 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe – Coronda (Argentina), the 88 km Maratón Hernandarias-Paraná (Argentina), the 15 km Cozumel Grand Prix (México), the 32 km Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean, the 32 km Traversée Internationale du lac Memphrémagog, the 36 km Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli (Italy) and two other 15 km races.
“It was a very positive experience,” she told Juan Diego Ferrante of Ovación. The 7th-ranked swimmer had to take a break after her last race in Italy after a long season that took her around the world. “After Capri-Napoli, the first thing that I did was to mentally recover because your mind is the thing much important than the body. If you are not 100% right in the head, then working out is not quite right. But that stage is passed and now I am looking forward to the future.”
But she was also happy with her efforts in so many countries. “I traveled a lot and swam intensively in each race. It was satisfying season, especially since it is not easy to face this level of competition. The season is very tiring and because the swims are very close to each together, sometimes we have to be careful with adequate recovery. For example, this year after the two marathon swims in Canada, I decided not to go to Macedonia because I was already very sore. So I focused on the last race of the season: Capri- Napoli.
I really liked lac St-Jean in Canada because of the water conditions, the sponsorships and the support of the local people, but I felt was best in Italy at Capri-Napoli where I swam very comfortably and swam according to my plan. On the reverse, I had most difficulties in the 88 km Maratón Hernandarias-Paraná because I was sick with stomach problems from the previous week and I had fully recovered. But stubborn as I am, I just stayed in and swam.”
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