{"id":3452,"date":"2026-09-25T08:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/?p=3452"},"modified":"2026-09-22T10:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T10:29:02","slug":"a-minha-aventura-na-natacao-em-aguas-abertas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/a-minha-aventura-na-natacao-em-aguas-abertas\/","title":{"rendered":"My open-water swimming adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It all started during a walk along Praia da Duquesa in Cascais. I was passing by when I saw a group of women, all wearing blue swim caps, looking so happy in the water. I thought, \u201cWhat is this? What is this happy group?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days later, there they were again. Curiosity got the better of me\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

than shyness. I went over and asked what it was. They told me it was open-water swimming with Swim4Fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went home thinking about it. I did some research, spoke to Bibiana, and immediately booked a trial lesson. Without thinking twice, I went to Decathlon to buy a swimming wetsuit. And on January 5, in the middle of winter, there I was at Praia da Torre for my first lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My teacher was Anabela. She was incredibly kind from the very first minute. And I had my first surprise right away: I love diving underwater in the summer, but with the wetsuit on, I couldn\u2019t sink! I just floated! We had a good laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She got me swimming, and at the end she said, \u201cRosa, you\u2019re going into Level 1.\u201d And that\u2019s when the real adventure began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know it can be scary at first. All the gear, the wetsuit, the sea in winter, starting to swim seriously\u2026 it\u2019s all a little intimidating. And for me, it was scary and very difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started swimming, I couldn\u2019t breathe. It was overwhelming. I would swim a little way and immediately have to stop. I was completely out of breath\u2014it felt as though my lungs and heart were going to burst out of my mouth. I was really struggling. In the beginning, I struggled terribly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anabela would say, \u201cCome on, today we\u2019re swimming to the yellow house!\u201d And I would think, \u201cHow am I going to get there if I can\u2019t even breathe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was one Sunday when it was just the two of us\u2014her and me. It took me an hour to swim to the yellow house and back. On the way there, I stopped about ten times. On the way back, I lost count of how many times I stopped. And she, with the patience of a saint, stayed by my side the whole time, simply saying, \u201cTake it easy, Rosa, it\u2019s normal. Just take it slowly\u2014you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was persistent. I didn\u2019t miss a single lesson, even though I was struggling so much, even in the cold, rain, wind, and freezing water. And one thing is true: I never, ever got out of the water without a smile on my face, even when I was completely out of breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until one day, it happened. I managed to reach the yellow house without stopping. I was absolutely thrilled\u2014there are no words to describe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as I managed that, my teammate Ana said, \u201cShall we sign up for the 750-metre race in Set\u00fabal?\u201d I immediately said, \u201cAre you crazy? Never!\u201d But Anabela said, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you do it? You have a month to train.\u201d I got home that day and signed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We trained every Sunday. Then one day Anabela said, \u201cDo you realize you\u2019ve just swum 750 metres today?\u201d We hadn\u2019t even noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day of the Set\u00fabal race arrived. I was incredibly nervous, with adrenaline pumping. The starting signal went, and off I went. I swam and managed to make it to the finish. It felt like winning a trophy\u2014a feeling I\u2019ll treasure for the rest of my life. And I crossed the finish line holding hands with my great friend Catarina Pinheiro, as if we had won the gold medal at the Olympic Games. It was beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Set\u00fabal, another adventure began: technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anabela had told me, \u201cWhen you come back from Set\u00fabal, I\u2019m going to teach you how to swim properly.\u201d And so it began: \u201cRosa, stretch your arms out wide, keep your elbow up like this\u2026\u201d She was always telling me off: \u201cStretch your arms out, Rosa, stretch your arms out!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried to do everything at once, and then I would say to her, \u201cAnabela, I did everything you told me to, but I forgot to breathe!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there was something very important to me. Whenever I started to do a little better, she would say, \u201cThat\u2019s great, Rosa, that\u2019s great!\u201d That word \u201cgreat\u201d was great! It was a little boost; it was encouraging. It meant everything to me. When she said, \u201cThat\u2019s great,\u201d I was so happy\u2014it felt as though I already knew how to swim!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swallowed a lot of water! It was such a fun learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then one day, suddenly, everything clicked. I was swimming and began to feel my body gliding through the sea\u2014truly gliding. It was a wonderful, magical feeling. I realized I was no longer fighting the sea; I was becoming part of it. Everything changed that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was hooked. I started going twice a week, then three times, then four times a week. I began rearranging my whole life just so I could go swimming. The sea started calling me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the challenge of the 2.5-kilometre Ant\u00f3nio Bessone Basto swim in Oeiras. When they told me about it, I said, \u201c2,500 metres? I can\u2019t do that!\u201d They said, \u201cIt\u2019s easy\u2014you\u2019ll catch a current that carries you along.\u201d I didn\u2019t believe them, but I signed up. I went terrified, but I went. And I did it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The toughest race I\u2019ve done so far was the one in Albufeira. It was incredibly difficult. As soon as we got into the water, the sea suddenly started to get rough. Everything came at once: waves, wind, and currents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After one kilometre, I thought, \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to make it to the finish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I heard a voice inside me saying, \u201cRosa, giving up isn\u2019t in your vocabulary. Now you\u2019re going all the way to the finish.\u201d And I did. I finished feeling incredibly happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, I moved from Level 1 to Level 2. It\u2019s different\u2014the techniques are different\u2014but I\u2019m really enjoying it and feel that I\u2019m improving. I\u2019m still persistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t been going to lessons as much lately because the schedules haven\u2019t worked out, but I\u2019m still swimming. I go on my own or always find a friend to go with me. The sea is still always with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what open-water swimming has truly changed in my life goes far beyond the distance I\u2019ve swum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years ago, my husband died. For three years, I more or less stopped living. I lost the will to live. I shut myself away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding Swim4Fun changed my life completely. I\u2019m a different person. I feel like living again, I\u2019m more active and happier, and I always have something to look forward to on Sundays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel like talking to people again. I used to be more withdrawn, but not anymore. I\u2019ve become Rosa again. I\u2019m always in good spirits. Open-water swimming has changed me profoundly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to leave a heartfelt thank-you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to thank my teacher, my amazing coach Anabela. Those five minutes we spent talking at the end of our lessons, freezing cold and shivering as we took off our wetsuits in winter\u2026 If only she knew how much good those conversations did for my soul and my heart. There are no words to thank her. I want to thank her with all my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also want to thank Bibiana for her patience with me, because I\u2019m not always easy, and Professor Let\u00edcia too. She only joined us recently, but she\u2019s also been wonderful and very patient with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to thank my Level 1 classmates, who were with me at the beginning. They were very important to me during that stage of my life\u2014the encouragement they gave me, and the jokes we always shared after class, laughing together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, I want to thank the entire Swim4Fun community: everyone I\u2019ve swum with, had fun with, chatted and laughed with, and joined for activities where we had such a wonderful time. Thank you all, for everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obrigada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From struggling to breathe to reaching the yellow house. From grief to the will to live. I became Rosa again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosa Coronha<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tudo come\u00e7ou num passeio na Praia da Duquesa, em Cascais. Ia a passar e vi um grupo de senhoras, todas de touca azul, t\u00e3o contentes dentro de \u00e1gua. Pensei: “O que \u00e9 isto? Que grupo feliz \u00e9 este?” Dois dias depois l\u00e1 estavam elas de novo. A curiosidade foi mais te que a vergonha. Aproximei-me … <\/p>\n

Read more “A minha aventura na nata\u00e7\u00e3o em \u00e1guas abertas”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sem-categoria-en"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-8.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Clube Swim4fun","author_link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/author\/geralclube-swim4fun-pt\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3452"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3457,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452\/revisions\/3457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}