Wes Nolan Describes His Open Water Journey On WOWSA Live

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Wesley Nolan, a former water polo player who represented Ireland internationally at the Deaf Olympics and the European Championships, was inspired to try the sport of open water swimming.

The 42-year-old father of three (soon to be four) had audacious goals, right from the start.

After participating in the Cork Distance Week and completing a 13 km circumnavigation swim around Cape Clear Island in his native Ireland, he crossed the English Channel in 16 hours 36 minutes with Stuart Gleeson as his escort pilot for which he received the 2017 CSA Special Award from the Channel Swimming Association.

Nolan, who grew up near Dublin, talked about his journey with International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame chairperson Ned Denison on today’s WOWSA Live with Paul as his interpreter, including:

* playing water polo and learning teamwork with the Dublin Kelts while in deaf school
* going to the European Championships in Italy and later winning a bronze medal in Hungary
* losing to the gold-medal winning team of Germany at the Deaf Olympic Games in Taiwan
* retiring from water polo and heard about the Great London Swim
* getting inspired by Shane Moraghan in 2015 and subsequently training in Dover and at the Cork Distance Week
* taking time off during the Cork Distance Week to swim 13 km around Cape Clear Island in Ireland which had only been accomplished once before
* planning an unprecedented swim of 34 km starting at Fastnet Rock and finishing in Baltimore, Ireland

Nolan also described how the game of water polo helped him overcome obstacles in channel swimming:

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