I’ve always practiced swimming, but my real dream was to swim in open water! The sea and the contact with its life and strength have always fascinated me—a mix of fear, but a fear that pushes me forward instead of making me back away.
I started after the pandemic, and I never want to stop!
I did my first 3.9 km race and then thought, if someone can do this, they can do 5 km—so I went straight to 10 km, the feared open-water marathon!
I remembered that when I was little, I had a dream of swimming ‘from here to there’ and I even told my father about it. ‘From here to there’ was from Praia da Torre in Oeiras all the way to Cascais! And so it happened — with a lot of training, discipline, and consistency, I managed to make that dream come true.
I confess it isn’t easy with a busy life — day-to-day routines, work and family obligations, stress, and everything I had to give up — but if it were easy, I wouldn’t enjoy it as much! It was 4 hours and 5 minutes of swimming, with immense pleasure, along such a familiar route where I grew up, but this time seen from the perspective of the sea.
I didn’t stop there, and the following year I trained again for the 10 km, but the sea didn’t want the race to happen — there was huge fog that made it impossible to hold the event. In the meantime, I did pool races, other shorter sea races, swam in dreamlike places, rounded Cape Espichel, the tip of Sagres, swam at Arrifana at the needle’s tip in Boca do Inferno, saw dolphins, a shark, swam in choppy tides and calm seas, in cold waters, in the cold, sun, rain, hail, waves, and currents! I challenged and faced fears and ghosts, and I repeated the 10 km again this year!
Now yes, the real challenge: choppy sea with waves, headwind, and an opposing current. Conditions couldn’t have been worse! I swam and didn’t move forward; time passed and I didn’t feel like I was making any progress! With a respiratory infection and on antibiotics, it took 5 hours and 34 minutes to reach the finish line — quitting never even crossed my mind!
I had a lot of physical pain, hunger, cold, I coughed a lot, and my breathing was very affected, but I stayed focused on the finish line and on my mantra: ‘I am strong, I can do this.’ Reaching the finish was emotional, and I felt immense pride in the strength of my mind and my dreams.
With the sea, I learned precious lessons that I use in my life every day
- The sea is always different, and it’s the one in charge;
- The sea gives me back what I need most on that day: if it’s calm, it gives me peace; if it’s rough and angry, it gives me grit and a good kind of fury to face everything; if it’s warmer, it gives me comfort and peace; and if it’s colder, it shows me that I can endure anything!
- Fear is fuel, not a barrier;
- Having courage doesn’t mean not being afraid, but rather being afraid and still going;
- I don’t control anything, I accept the conditions, and even so, I go with great respect;
- The toughest battles aren’t the waves or the rough sea—they are within us, and a strong mind can achieve anything; you just have to want it.
- Giving my best on that day, even if I’m not at 100%;
- Being present and connecting with myself;
I always come out of the sea feeling more alive and with a cleansed soul.
This year I joined the Swim4fun club and started training again with Bibiana, a very special woman and an example that those who dream can achieve! She had already been my coach, and the Universe brought us together again. I am very happy and excited for the upcoming challenges, to grow and learn more and more from each of the athletes, who in their own way are an inspiration to me! 🩵.
Joana Galhardo
Fantástico o seu depoimento! Parabéns!