HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? SWEDEMAN
I may well be swimming backwards now. With the country’s biggest waterfall up ahead, the outflow is seriously challenging my forward momentum. The flags on the shore and gathered supporters clearly show my target but I’m making little headway. Trying to make myself as streamlined as possible, I pull myself through the fast-flowing water as best I can. To my right I spot another competitor taking a more direct line, but the current gets him and in a matter of seconds he’s far behind me. After a good deal of almost stationary swimming, the water shallows and I see the smooth rocks below. As I clamber onto them, I hear my supporter Johan and he quickly grabs me. I apologise for his wait. That was one heck of a swim exit and is a decent reflection of the race itself, with both awesomeness and difficulty stitched all over it. I’m in Sweden for an XTRI race, the aptly named Swedeman.
A LONG TIME COMING
I’d had plans to do this race since 2020.
