Five years ago, I entered this challenge for the first time to swim the 3.8 km. It was my first open-water race and it seemed impossible, but I proved that something only seems impossible until it’s done!
As soon as I finished the race, I thought: “If I can do 3.8 km, I can also do 5 km!”
I skipped the 5 km and went straight to the 10 km to pursue a dream I had since I was little: to swim from Oeiras to Cascais and complete an aquathlon marathon.
In my second year, I took on the 10 km. The goal was not to set a great time. It was simply to finish!
It took me 4h05m of a lot of training, effort, discipline, and heart. When I touched the finish line, I realized I would never look at the Marginal the same way again. Even today, whenever I drive along it, I get emotional. I know exactly what I lived through in every kilometer of that sea.
In the third year came one of the biggest disappointments. A fog that never lifted forced the race to be canceled. After so many months of preparation, it hurt. A lot. But I learned one of the first great lessons of open-water swimming: the sea and nature are the ultimate authorities.
In the fourth year, I was back. I wanted to improve my time. But the sea had other plans.
I faced headwinds, rough waves, strong wind, intense physical pain, a respiratory infection, and personal challenges that were also weighing on me.
It was 5h35m of struggle.
That day, I didn’t break time records, but I did break personal records and discovered a strength I didn’t even know I had.
I learned that giving up is not part of who I am.
And once again, I completed the aquathlon marathon.
Today, whenever I pass along the Marginal, I can almost feel again the fatigue, the pain, the nausea, and the cold, but above all, the indescribable emotion of knowing that I made it, despite the difficulties.
Then came the fifth Swim GP.
After a very honest conversation with my coach Bibiana, I made a decision that was hard for me: to do the 5 km instead of the 10 km, which I so wanted to repeat.
For a while, I felt like I was going backward. I questioned myself. I doubted myself. I had far less time to train than in previous years.
But, for the first time, I went just to enjoy it, just as Bibiana suggested.
No pressure.
No expectations.
Just the desire to swim.
And that’s when the magic happened.
The sea gifted us incredible conditions. I was surrounded by a fantastic team and extraordinary swim companions. I put into practice everything I had learned over these five years.
Usually, I used to do the 5 km in about 2 hours. This year, I allowed myself to dream: “Maybe I can go under 2 hours?”
I never imagined I would finish in 1h35m!!!
And even less that I would step onto the top step of the podium, taking 1st place in the 45–54 age group.
It was one of those surprises that stay in the heart forever.
The sea taught me once again.
Nem tudo é sobre fazer mais quilómetros.
Not everything is about going farther.
Sometimes, growth is about knowing how to change course.
It’s about accepting the stage of life we’re in.
It’s about understanding that a shorter distance does not diminish the greatness of a challenge.
It’s about understanding that doing fewer kilometers does not mean being less.
It’s about continuing to give our best with what we have at that moment.
Because when we do things with love, dedication, humility, and passion, life always finds a way to surprise us.
The body remembers.
The mind leads.
But it is the heart that takes us farther.
Thank you to coaches Bibiana Farias and Ricardo Arraias for helping me believe when I was doubting myself.
Thank you to my former coach, Gonçalo Santos, for all the lessons, which are still always present.
Thank you to my amazing club of super athletes, Swim4Fun, to my training partners, and to everyone who was part of this journey.
And thank you, Sea.
For all the lessons.
For all the tears.
For all the victories.
And for all the moments of pure challenge, courage, and, above all, so much joy!
See you next year, Swim GP!
And one day, when the Universe aligns in my favor, I’ll be there for the 20 km.
Joana Galhardo