Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Guy Cohen is training like he has never trained before.
His passion comes from the heart.
“The swim is now less than two months away,” explained Cohen to coach Ori Sela of Swim West. Sela and his swim buddies have pushed him to swim 170 km (106 miles), mostly in the open water, last month with his longest swim being 22 km over 7 hours. “In April I will reach 225 km (140 miles) with my longest [planned] swim to be a 40 km (25-mile) overnighter.”
His overnighter will be crucial to his training.
“My daughter Netta died instantly from Sudden Cardiac Death. We had no time to help her, I couldn’t save her. What if by this challenge we can help to save future loss of lives?“
So he trains, plans and prepares.
“I think a lot about the cause. I am thinking a lot about Netta. On one side this is increasing the pressure: I am on a mission now and I must not disappoint all those who are following [this swim]. It’s not my personal challenge anymore; it’s much bigger now. But on the other hand – everyone’s encouragement provides a huge moral support. This challenge is so big, so difficult, it is enormous; I definitely appreciate this kind of support.”
Last week was the first time I felt my shoulders, I knew I need to swim WEST and work on my swimming technique especially in long distances.
Cohan will swim for 24 hours straight to help raise funds that are needed to fight Sudden Cardiac Death and the Rambam Hospital in Haifu [Israel].
For more information on the Swim From The Heart event, visit here.
Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association