“It
wasn’t an easy swim, wind against tide, and not sun once daylight
broke. I had to overcome surgery, months of physical therapy, thyroid
disease, and a last minute lower back concern treated by a great
chiropractor in La Jolla. Phew!!!!! All put behind as I stepped into the
dark waters of the Catalina Channel. As I took the first strokes, I
knew I could. I have met some great people on the journey: Dr Michael
Ackerman, Mimi and Richard Sampson, Heidi, and the crew of Outrider. And
a huge thanks to my friend Pat Frank his unconditional support along
this journey.”
Sometimes we have turning points in our
lives and events such as completing a channel swim can be
transformational. Laura is at just that point… her life is taking a turn
for the better and this turn is marked by her successful Catalina
Channel swim. I had some work commitments and wasn’t able to be on the
escort boat for Laura’s swim, but we were able to share a few swims in
La Jolla Cove before she went up to Los Angeles for her big swim. I met
Laura 10 years ago when I was her observer for her first English Channel
swim in 2002. Laura become the second Spanish woman to swim the English
Channel that day and we’ve been good friends ever since. One of the
best gifts of this sport is the lifelong friendships forged on various
beaches around the world, as we train for and step in the water to swim
from one body of land to another.
Laura’s Catalina Channel swim turned out to
be more difficult than most this season, as she battled choppy water
and wind the whole way across. Well-supported by crew and determined,
Laura persevered. Knowing this was a turn-a-round moment in her life,
she would not give up, even when during a particularly dark hour of her
swim Laura was told she would have to swim 4 1/2 more hours to the
finish. Swallowing that information and processing it took a while, but
she re-calibrated her mind and swam on, knowing she would be successful,
no matter how long it took. 14 hours and 31 minutes after stepping in
the sea at Catalina Island, Laura Lopez-Bonilla crawled out onto
Terranea Beach, a successful Catalina Channel swimmer.
Laura had never been greeted at the finish
of either of her successful English Channel swims, as she swam in to the
beach in France during the middle of the night. This swim had a special
surprise in store for Laura…
Our
friends from Mexico City, Nora Toledano, Mariel Hawley, Gela Limonchi
and Ariadna Del Villar were in town for Mariel’s swim the following day.
All swam out to escort Laura in to the beach. What a welcoming
committee!!!
Muchas Felicidades, Laura !!!
