In 2017, I took part in my first open water race, the Swim Challenge Cascais 1.9km.
At the time, there was still little talk about this type of race, and my goal was to test the feeling of swimming in the sea in preparation for doing Triathlon.
Since I didn’t know how to swim, I had started taking lessons about a year earlier — it was a whole new world for me. I already had experience cycling and running, but swimming long distances in the sea felt exhausting given my experience.
On race day, I was super nervous, and when I arrived at the beach, instead of the usual calm sea at Praia da Duquesa, the ocean had huge waves — I couldn’t believe it! It looked like a tidal surge!
I thought twice and decided not to turn back — my main goal was right in front of me. I had to be strong and face nature’s challenges, and I couldn’t ignore a whole year of training. I threw myself into the sea and didn’t stop; it felt like it would never end, but when I finished, it was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, and it sparked a passion in me to keep exploring the ocean.
After a few years, I started doing Half Ironmans outside of Portugal, and new challenges arose — swimming in lakes, rivers, and warm waters — so I decided to join Swim4fun to learn techniques and work on my mindset.
With the motivation and companionship of Swim4fun, I decided to join the club in the races of the National Open Water Championship, and it’s been a challenging experience due to the slightly longer distances than I was used to. I also want to highlight one of the very positive and interesting aspects of this circuit: the great sense of community among all the athletes and their families.
Ana Salé