My open-water swimming journey has been a mix of highs and lows, of quitting and starting over.
It all started in 2019, on a Sunday afternoon on the Minho River. With the tide coming in, a friend and I swam from Caminha to Seixas. We made the upstream journey at lightning speed! A few days later, we swam down the Coura River, from Vilarelho to Caminha. We wrapped up the week at the *Senhora da Agonia* event. The water was freezing (as always); it was a 2km swim where I struggled to breathe the whole time, my body completely frozen. The following week, I took part in the *Costa Serena* crossing. The water was 20°C, with no waves... It was absolute paradise. That year, I swam the Coura a few more times, but then autumn arrived, and we went back to the pool.
The following summer, COVID hit... In 2021, I competed in two or three races, always under strict pandemic restrictions. The pools had been closed all winter; I hadn't trained at all, and my body felt the strain with every stroke. I spent the summer of 2022 pregnant, swimming only in pools. In 2023, I returned to open water. I thought everything would be just as it was before, but it wasn't...
Motherhood changed a lot of things. I developed a panic about deep water; I would freeze with fear every time I got in. I put my wetsuit away, thinking I’d never be able to return to the sea.
As time went by, I gradually returned to the sport—always with a companion so I’d feel safer—and managed to get my fear under control.
This year, I decided to sign up for the National Masters Circuit. I started training in the pool with Gonçalo, and gradually, I began to gain confidence.
So far, I’ve completed two races in the circuit and one other race in Galicia. I always feel great. Even though I’m still not in top form, every time I get out of the water having finished a race, I feel like I’ve made the podium.
My daughter is almost four years old now and has always accompanied me. Although she complains a lot because it takes me a long time to finish, for me, every race completed is a victory!
Joana Pereira