WE DID IT
It is Day #11 aboard of RGS Resolute and we are coming home. The strong winds and waves of the Drake Passage cannot remove the smiles from our faces. 14 ice swimmers from all over the world came here to make history, and so have we. We are all over the moon.
It has not been easy. Antarctica is an unpredictable place and the swimming windows are very narrow. Seven swimmers were able to swim on Friday, Nov 23rd, and the other seven swam on Saturday, Nov 24th. Weather conditions including snow, winds, currents and chop varied among all four heats so results are very relative, and the important thing is that we all finished the Ice KM.
My heat had, in theory, the six strongest swimmers. 4-time Olympian Petar Stoychev and World Champion Victoria Mori were the favorites to win from the beginning, and they met the expectations. At about 2pm we each went into our zodiac and were ridden 1,000 meters away from the mothership. The snow was significant and there was ice all around the water, but the winds had calmed a bit and we knew it was the last opportunity for us to get it done.
So when the race director - Ram - shouted "Swimmers, take off your clothes!" we didn't hesitate a second. We jumped into the -1.4 C degrees waters and held to the zodiac until we were given the GO. Because I am a left breather, I am right behind Victoria when we start, which is a huge motivation for me. I forget about how frikin cold the water is, and how numb my hands and feet are, and focus on chasing her. She is, in turn, chasing Petar, so I know it will be difficult to beat them, but it is a great inspiration and motivation to go after them.
After a few minutes, I have stabilized my breathing and pace, and I am at peace. I try to look for penguins underneath me and to enjoy the swim. The mothership, which is our finish line, is still difficult to spot due to the snow, so I focus on my support zodiac. Johana and my second, Leszek, try to point me to the ice rock ahead of me, but it is too late, and my left-hand bumps into it, big time. I stop to look, but I don't feel much anyway, so I keep it going. By now I can see the front of the ship so I know I am close to my objective. Giving up was never an option.
I finally spot the finishing line - another zodiac - and see how mine goes away. It is amazing how conscious my body has felt throughout the swim and how much I remember every moment. The people on the finishing zodiac point me where to touch to be done, and so do I. I can't believe it. I've touched third and I have done an Ice KM in Antarctica in waters of -1.4 C. I cannot keep the excitement and I for a moment forget how exhausted and in need of medical attention I am and I start shouting and hitting the water. The whole year waiting for that precise moment. What a feeling.
I swim back to my zodiac and I am literally pulled into it. It continues to snow and I lay down, unable to move. Johana puts me two socks in my hands, and a parka on top of me, and I am taken to the mothership. I am not sure how but I manage to walk the whole corridor and climb 4 floors, and I finally reach the recovery area. We have been lucky to count with two of the best "ice doctors" in the world, Dr. Sean Gottslack and Dr. Nataliya Fatyanova, and they made the recovery so much faster.
While I recover in the sauna, I see the other three swimmers in my heat arrive - in different shape, but all with a smile in their face. We have all finished what we came here to do. Before this weekend, only 10 people have swum at least 1 kilometer in Antarctica - today we are 23. Most importantly, we have swum in conditions that the previous swimmers would have never imagined swimming in - Ram's words, not mine. Which means that the sport is evolving and we keep evolving every day.
Personally, it is hard to describe the feeling of finishing my seventh continent. Memories are popping out in my mind, with every single person that has helped me achieve my dream, including Johana. I will dedicate a few words to each of them later, so for now, I will just say THANK YOU.
WE DID IT.
It has not been easy. Antarctica is an unpredictable place and the swimming windows are very narrow. Seven swimmers were able to swim on Friday, Nov 23rd, and the other seven swam on Saturday, Nov 24th. Weather conditions including snow, winds, currents and chop varied among all four heats so results are very relative, and the important thing is that we all finished the Ice KM.
My heat had, in theory, the six strongest swimmers. 4-time Olympian Petar Stoychev and World Champion Victoria Mori were the favorites to win from the beginning, and they met the expectations. At about 2pm we each went into our zodiac and were ridden 1,000 meters away from the mothership. The snow was significant and there was ice all around the water, but the winds had calmed a bit and we knew it was the last opportunity for us to get it done.
So when the race director - Ram - shouted "Swimmers, take off your clothes!" we didn't hesitate a second. We jumped into the -1.4 C degrees waters and held to the zodiac until we were given the GO. Because I am a left breather, I am right behind Victoria when we start, which is a huge motivation for me. I forget about how frikin cold the water is, and how numb my hands and feet are, and focus on chasing her. She is, in turn, chasing Petar, so I know it will be difficult to beat them, but it is a great inspiration and motivation to go after them.
After a few minutes, I have stabilized my breathing and pace, and I am at peace. I try to look for penguins underneath me and to enjoy the swim. The mothership, which is our finish line, is still difficult to spot due to the snow, so I focus on my support zodiac. Johana and my second, Leszek, try to point me to the ice rock ahead of me, but it is too late, and my left-hand bumps into it, big time. I stop to look, but I don't feel much anyway, so I keep it going. By now I can see the front of the ship so I know I am close to my objective. Giving up was never an option.
I finally spot the finishing line - another zodiac - and see how mine goes away. It is amazing how conscious my body has felt throughout the swim and how much I remember every moment. The people on the finishing zodiac point me where to touch to be done, and so do I. I can't believe it. I've touched third and I have done an Ice KM in Antarctica in waters of -1.4 C. I cannot keep the excitement and I for a moment forget how exhausted and in need of medical attention I am and I start shouting and hitting the water. The whole year waiting for that precise moment. What a feeling.
I swim back to my zodiac and I am literally pulled into it. It continues to snow and I lay down, unable to move. Johana puts me two socks in my hands, and a parka on top of me, and I am taken to the mothership. I am not sure how but I manage to walk the whole corridor and climb 4 floors, and I finally reach the recovery area. We have been lucky to count with two of the best "ice doctors" in the world, Dr. Sean Gottslack and Dr. Nataliya Fatyanova, and they made the recovery so much faster.
While I recover in the sauna, I see the other three swimmers in my heat arrive - in different shape, but all with a smile in their face. We have all finished what we came here to do. Before this weekend, only 10 people have swum at least 1 kilometer in Antarctica - today we are 23. Most importantly, we have swum in conditions that the previous swimmers would have never imagined swimming in - Ram's words, not mine. Which means that the sport is evolving and we keep evolving every day.
Personally, it is hard to describe the feeling of finishing my seventh continent. Memories are popping out in my mind, with every single person that has helped me achieve my dream, including Johana. I will dedicate a few words to each of them later, so for now, I will just say THANK YOU.
WE DID IT.
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