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YOUR STORIES
Every issue we ask you to tell us why you love open water swimming. Carol Prior shares her story with us…
Carol Prior lives in Northumberland. She was formerly a competitive pool club-swimmer, but tired of this, and then triathlon training unleashed the ‘open water swimming monster’ in her…
I’VE MET SO MANY LOVELY PEOPLE THROUGH THE SPORT AND I’M AMAZED AT THE
PASSION THEY HAVE FOR OPEN WATER SWIMMING
Illustration © Emily Davies
I have always loved the water. About 25 years ago I enrolled in a local swimming club, and swam with them for seven years.
I became a fairly decent club swimmer, although I never made it any further than local county swimming championships. I ended up leaving the club, but continued swimming, on and
off , at my local pool. However, I never really regained the love for swimming I had as a kid. Over time, I visited the pool less and less. Earlier this year, I decided to join a triathlon programme run by the local authority. At this point it had been three years since I had even been near a pool. I decided I needed a new challenge, and opted to compete in a triathlon before the summer was over. So, I returned to my local pool to begin my training, and was asked
by some ladies if I wanted to train with them – I was shocked at how much swimming fi tness I’d lost, but I plodded on. These ladies asked me about my outdoor training plans. Although I knew that if I was going to do a triathlon I would need to train in the open water, at this stage I had done nothing about it. It was clear there could be no more procrastinating, and so I relented and bought a wetsuit. My fi rst outdoor swim was with the local triathlon club, and, my goodness, it was cold! But, I loved it. I absolutely loved it! Since then I’ve swum in local lakes and the sea (I live in Northumberland, and we have the most beautiful coastline, which only adds to the experience.)
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I’ve also swum in a couple of organised events, and amazed myself with my competitiveness in the most recent event. It was aſt er this that a friend gave me a copy of H2Open, and it was this that really unleashed the open water monster in me; my love of swimming has been offi cially restored! I’ve met so many lovely people through the sport and I’m amazed at the passion they have for open water swimming – they’re a hardy bunch, too.
Now I can’t wait for my next outdoor swim. I rarely shut up about swimming, and am now trying to get a group together to swim the Maltese Crossing next year.
I still haven’t competed in a triathlon, but I know that when I do, the swimming certainly won’t be an issue! ○
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