February 2012
Since 2008, the FINA Open Water Grand Prix offers the
world’s best open water swimmers a chance to compete in an annual circuit
comprising distances over 10km. In 2012, the competitions kicked off with
three races on three consecutive weekends in Argentina:
15km on January 22nd at Rosario,
57km on January 29th at Santa Fe-Coronda and on February 5th, 88km at
Hernandarias-Parana. My good friend and very fast young swimmer, Mallory
Mead, had been invited to race at Hernandarias-Parana and would be representing
the United States.
USA
swimmers are required to have a USA
swim coach in attendance at these competitions, to look out for their safety
interests and make sure they are represented by a qualified coach at the
location of the race. Mallory asked me if I would be interested in doing
this for her and not being one to pass up an adventure, I said “sign me
up!” We began to make plans for our debut on the Grand Prix circuit,
getting advice from our friends who had been there, both as coaches and
swimmers.
I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want to do the
long swims any more, but am very good at coaching them. Mallory is
self-coached, which is working very well for her and she is swimming faster
than she ever has before – even during her college years. We were,
indeed, a winning team!
After a two-day commute, we
arrived at our hotel in Parana
and immediately met some of the other swimmers. Most had come from Santa Fe and having raced
the weekend before, were sporting swim cap sunburns on their faces to prove
it. Many local open water stars from Argentina arrived, as well as
swimmers and coaches from Australia, Spain, Italy, Holland, Canada, Macedonia,
Syria, Croatia and other countries, all staying at the same hotel and eating
our meals together in the dining room. It’s a close-knit group and even
though they are in competition with each other for place finishes and prize
money, the bond of friendship is strong and Mallory and I were accepted into
the group and felt welcome the first day. Swimmers and coaches gathered
after breakfast each morning and walked to the local swimming pool for daily
sessions to loosen up and keep their feel for the water for race day. The
local children at the pool looked upon the swimmers as heroes and didn’t miss
an opportunity to practice speaking English and have their picture taken with
as many of them as possible.
We enjoyed much pageantry around this adventure.
A press conference (and party) was held the evening after we arrived and we
very much enjoyed the festivities and hospitality.
I got a chance to catch up with my friend, Jorge
Delgado, who was the FINA official in charge of the races.
Two days before the 88km race down river from
Hernandarias to Parana,
there would be a 2km sprint race. None of the swimmers there would
consider themselves sprinters, but this was a good opportunity to showcase the
event’s sponsors and a good ice breaker for the swimmers. The finish
would be the same as for the long race, so it was an opportunity for them to
check out landmarks and get in the river, swim hard and get rid of some nervous
tension. Mallory did extremely well in her 2km “sprint”… garnering a 4th place
finish. Not quite good enough for a podium finish, but encouraged when
she noticed she would only be racing one of the women who finished ahead of her
on Sunday when they would be swimming their “game race” of 88km.
Mallory and I had been spending
some of our down time making video for a documentary and you can see I’m hard
at work as Mallory prepares to swim! We’ll be telling the “behind the
scenes” happenings of our travel adventures, the swim stories and some
hilarious and surprising interviews with other swimmers and coaches we met on
this trip to Argentina.
One of my favorite sayings about open water swimming –
“Expect the Unexpected” – began to unfold on Saturday, the day after the sprint
race, when coaches and swimmers boarded buses and headed to Hernandarias.
The race was scheduled to start there on Sunday morning and swimmers, with
their coaches alongside in wooden row boats doling out feedings, racing advice
and encouragement, would make their way down river back to Parana, finishing sometime that
evening. Because the river was low, the swimmers were expecting to be
racing for 10-11 hours or more.
Here are some of our new friends from Holland, Canada and Croatia… our “roomies” in Hernandarias.
We could hear emus, peacocks, pheasant and other birds
during the night. They were the pets of the proprietors, along with many
friendly dogs and a very cute puppy.
We spent the night at these cottages in Hernandarias and
were treated to breakfast the next morning… then the rain began again…
And now, for the unexpected…
Upon our arrival in Hernandarias the afternoon before the race, we were greeted
by a sudden and strong rainstorm. We were all seated in the dining room
of a building which would also serve as the start of the race in the morning
when the wind started to blow very hard and the river began to swell from the
sudden downpour of rain. During our lunch on the pontoon, sudden bursts
of wind screamed through the sliding glass doors opening out to the river,
blowing them right off their tracks. In a flash, the Dutch and Croatian coaches
caught the falling doors and held them against the force of the wind until the
restaurant staff lowered the storm shutters. Waves were cresting in the
river and one of the Argentine swimmers said he had never seen the rio like
that. I remembered the comments from the pre-race informational meeting
the evening before in Parana about “some wind” and what might happen in the
event the event needed to be canceled for safety reasons. This was what
they knew had been forecast and all we could do was wait and see what the
weather did… very reminiscent of the “Dover rollercoaster” to me, after
spending many weeks there waiting to see what the weather was going to do and
when or if I would be able to have a go at swimming the English Channel.
So, here in Argentina,
we had the roller coaster again. The swimmers were very brave and
professional about it all and continued as though there would be a race, but I
know the uncertainty had to be tough.
To make a long story short, we spent the night in the
cottages in Hernandarias, with no wi-fi and lots of conversation and laughs,
passing the time happily as we all kept an eye out the window. Swimmers
and coaches awoke to pre-race duties such as making feeds and collecting caps,
goggles and feeding poles. The weather seemed to have cleared and spirits
were high at breakfast. Until the rain began again.
We all continued on as if the race would happen.
Buses took us to the start line and I made my way to Mallory’s row boat and the
two men who would escort us down river. I put her feeds nearby and hoped
they would not get too muddy before the race started. Mallory and the other
swimmers were suited and greased up and their race numbers were being put
on. The weather kept changing from minute to minute and the race
directors were getting reports of more bad weather about four hours down river,
where the swimmers would begin swimming straight into very strong
headwinds. At 9:00am FINA representative Jorge Delgado canceled the race
for security reasons. There was just no way swimmers could be allowed in
the water when the safety of all participants could not be guaranteed. It
was, without a doubt, the right call to make. Local politicos were not
happy and protested, but it was good to see the well-being and protection of
the swimmers taken into account above all else.
An alternative race (another
“sprint” – 5km) was held the following day in Parana. FINA points would not be
awarded and the prize money was cut significantly, but the swimmers at least
got to get wet, albeit only for about 40 minutes as the current was swiftly at
their backs for most of the race. I was in the row boat, next to Mallory
and with the same two rowers from the day before, giving her hand signals to
help her navigate the strong currents as well as dodge flotsam and jetsam along
the race course. One of the most important signals I was able to give
Mallory was when she had swum a safe distance in front of a competitor and
could stop for a moment and adjust her swim cap, as it looked like it was about
to come off… a little disaster if you have hair long enough to get in your
face!
Mallory was third female finisher, good enough for a
podium finish. She swam a smart race and gave it her all. I am a
very proud coach!
Mallory and I enjoyed visiting with Aussie Trent
Grimsey, overall winner of both races. Team FINIS!
Our Dutch buddies, Daan Glorie and his coach Marcel
Stroet, were a highlight of our adventure. Mallory and Daan swam together
in the pool before the races and Marcel was a Godsend to me since I was the new
kid on the block!
And there was quite a party the night before it was
time to go home!
In case you’re wondering why there aren’t too many
pictures of me and they are mostly of the swimmers, I have a theory… The coach
is the schlep in the background making sure the swimmer is the STAR !!!
I look forward to many more coaching adventures…
