From triathlon to open waters

Swimming in open water is the maximum expression of the ability of human beings to adapt to the environment. 

 

 

Humans live today in a civilized society, where a large part of our decisions are made based on our reasoning instead of our instinct. They have passed to a better life those days in which the human being had to run faster than the predators to survive or be able to climb up to the highest tree to collect its fruits. All these actions were the result of the emergence of the most primitive instinct, the instinct of survival and therefore of competitiveness.

Since humanity found in civilization the best way to differentiate itself from the animal world, human beings have always found a way to continue feeling survivors, and ultimately, to continue to promote the more competitive "I".

Not in vain, ancient Greece organized the first Olympic Games in history, standardizing the rules of many of the physical activities then practiced to compare the classifications of the participants and thus obtain a list of results.

In this sense, popular sport is a clear reflection of the need of the human individual to show himself and at the same time compare with his environment that is still capable of swimming faster, pedaling for longer or climbing mountains at a higher rate.

In 1978 a small collective of our kind decided to revolutionize the concept of popular sport and began to practice TRIATHLON. Three sports in one that tripled the demand of the popular athletes to limits that only a few professionals knew until that moment.

Recent studies reveal that after 35 years of triathlon practice in the United States, many of these athletes are thirsty for new challenges. It would be the clear example of a long distance athlete who has burned all the stages in the world of triathlon. He has already started in sprint distance, he has improved his performance in an Olympic triathlon and he has also reached several times the goal of an Ironman. And now that? It is precisely at this point where open waters emerge, becoming the new limit, the new challenge.

In this line, a study conducted by the WOWSA (World Open Water Swimming Association) in 2012, confirms that swimming in open waters is the sport that is growing fastest worldwide, largely due to triathletes who leave the triple discipline and end up totally seduced by the sport of stroke.

In this sense, Spain is not an exception and a large group of open water swimmers is flocking to events that reach 1000 participants in the national territory.

What characterizes the new fashion sport?

1- A challenge in capital letters:

Swimming in open water is the highest expression of the ability to adapt to the environment that humans have. Mastering a medium for which we have not been designed for 10 km is a challenge comparable to an Ironman due to the learning process that it entails.

2- Less injuries, more enjoyment:

When working always in a weightless medium the number of injuries to which we expose is very small.

3- Contact with nature:

The possibility of swimming in open spaces such as the sea, lakes or rivers gives us a unique experience of knowing these natural landscapes from a very different point of view. The optics from within the water, without any artificial means that propel us and being respectful with the environment.

4- Economic sport:

The economic demands of this sport are mainly reduced to a hat, glasses and a swimsuit, being the neoprene the biggest investment of any swimmer in open waters.

5- Less dedication:

It is possible to be very competitive in long-distance open water trials by training a maximum of 7 sessions per week. In addition, we can do much of our workouts in the pool, under cover of inclement weather.

7- A very feminine sport:

More than one 30% of registrations at open water events come from women. The female sector is increasingly joining the practice of swimming in open water to be fit, socialize and of course, quench your thirst for competition.

If this article has awakened in you the curiosity for open waters, the next step is to find a challenge to prepare yourself for this season. OCEANMAN is the reference championship:

OCEANMAN, the most international open water swimming championship is consolidated in 2015 with 4 events between Spain and Italy, in which it is expected to gather more than 2500 athletes. The organization of these tests also bets on popular swimmers offering three distances in each of their events: Popular, non-competitive (1km - 2km), Half Oceanman (3km - 5km) and Oceanman (6km - 14km).

The OCEANMAN championship is governed by a preliminary qualifying system (Altea, Palamós, Lago d'Orta). In this line, the 10 first athletes of each of the categories and genres of each distance will be entitled to participate in the European Championship to be held in Benidorm on October 25.

Participation in the Benidorm test will also be open to those swimmers not previously classified so that these athletes will perform the same route in the OCEANMAN and HALF OCEANMAN distances but in no case will they opt for the victory in the European Championship.

The selection of the locations has followed strict criteria based on the tourist and landscape attractiveness of the area, the climate and, of course, the services and infrastructure of the populations that will finally host the events.

Test schedule:

-Oceanman Altea (Alicante) - 26 / 04 / 2015

-Oceanman Palamós (Girona) - 24 / 05 / 2015

-Oceanman Lago d'Orta (Italy) - 20 / 06 / 2015

-European Oceanman Championship of Benidorm (Alicante) - 25 / 10 / 2015

More information and registration www.oceanman-openwater.com