I had to overcome salty and very cold water (17° C editor’s note), waves and seasickness.
You managed to beat the previous world record — set by American Penny Lee Dean in 1978 — by 15 minutes. How is it that no one was able to break that record in 28 years?
It remained unbroken for so long because it was a very good time. For 17 years, it was an absolute world record.
Do you have any idea how many professional swimmers try to swim across the channel? Isn’t the English Channel the domain of amateur athletes?
I don’t know exactly, but I think many professional swimmers swim the English Channel every year. In contrast to non-professionals, they swim against time rather than just for the individual effort. I actually don’t think that the channel is the domain of amateur athletes, when you look at the names of people who have swum the channel. Take five-time world champion David Meca, for example, Petar Stochev and many other top professional swimmers. Not everyone can handle the cold water and conditions while swimming. Moreover, it is the oldest discipline in the sport. People have been swimming the English Channel for 131 years.
Any physical contact with the crew is forbidden, which is also the rule on the French coast at the turn. The maximum amount of time one can spend on the coast before heading back into the water is only 10 minutes.
Sometimes it takes days to wait for good weather before making the attempt to swim the channel. How do you spend your time?
Seeing as I had to wait only four days, the waiting period before the swim wasn’t too stressful. Nevertheless, I spent the time training in the water, reading, eating and relaxing.
How do Czech long-distance swimmers attract sponsorship? Has a new channel record been broken on account of their interests? Isn’t one of the reasons for swimming the channel to attract the attention of the media and thus sponsors?
While I am an amateur athlete and don’t have a club to pay my way, I have been dependent on sponsors for 10 years and the money is not at all easy to come by. If you don’t have results on the international swimming scene, the number of sponsors around you is very limited. Of course, sponsors want to see a return on their money, and that’s why I give it everything I’ve got. In fact, it was one of my sponsors, ASKOM a.s., who suggested the idea of swimming across the channel.
You achieved a lifelong dream by setting the world record. What other goals do you have on the horizon? Are you planning to swim both legs of the channel or will you attempt to break the men’s world record? When will you give the English Channel another try?
My season has just ended. Next year, I plan to swim up the Vltava as well as swim from Vienna to Bratislava. I am also planning on competing in the World Championship in long-distance swimming and, of course, returning to the English Channel. I would really like to try to break some kind of record in the channel, but I know how difficult it is to swim, let alone break a record.
You are getting ready for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. You will be 34 then. Aren’t you worried about younger competitors?
I’m not really training for the Olympics yet. I am not too worried about younger competitors, because I know from personal experience that long-distance swimming is all about experience.
You represent the Czech Republic. Do you feel some kind of tie to the country because of that? Are you proud of your country?
Certainly, I am aware of my ties to my country. The Czech Republic has helped me to swim and has invested a lot of money into me. Thanks to that, I have been able to reach a certain level in swimming. I am proud of my country. I am a patriot.Reprezentujete Českou republiku. Pociťujete při tom vůči své zemi nějaký závazek? Jsou chvíle, kdy jste na svou vlast hrdá?
It is probably better to train for long-distance swimming in some kind of coastal country. Have you ever considered moving to the sea?
Long-distance swimming is altogether the privilege of swimmers from coastal countries, and certainly they have it a little easier than I do when it comes to training. Moving to a coastal country indefinitely isn’t something I really think about, but in the winters, when conditions in the Czech Republic are not suited to training, I would seriously consider it.
Because I don’t have any experience with doping, I can’t really answer this question. However, testing at competitions is certainly not exceptional. I know of several world-class swimmers who have tested positive for doping. I disapprove of doping because it doesn’t seem fair when someone takes something and then wins. I wouldn’t be happy with that kind of victory. While I haven’t joined the fight against doping in sports, I have tried to get people to turn away from drugs by working with the Drop In association (a foundation for drug prevention and rehabilitation – editor’s note).
What motivates you more, setting a new record or winning a race? In other words, is it a bigger challenge to break personal records, or to beat the competition?
Of course, the greatest victory is breaking a personal record. It’s a battle against yourself, the water and the weather. You’re out there alone and don’t have anyone to carry you and you don’t know how to save your strength.
Your height would be a definite advantage in many other sports. Why did you decide on swimming? How many years did it take you to learn to swim?
I have loved the water from the time I was small and my father signed me up for swimming lessons when I was 6. I have been in the water ever since. Moreover, I had no idea that I would be as tall as I am (194 cm – editor’s note). That’s why I never though about my height as an advantage in other sports.
You have certain literary ambitions and are getting ready to write a book. Your resume also notes that you read poetry. Is this your way of balancing a profession that is primarily about taking care of one’s body?
Certainly, it’s a way for me to relax and helps me to regenerate. I am envious of any profession where one doesn’t have to put out a great physical effort, being in the water and in the cold.
You often train abroad during the winter. Where will you be heading this year?
This year I am getting ready to leave for three weeks of training in the United States at the end of November. I will be visiting a friend who works as a trainer at a swimming club.
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Yvetta Hlaváčová, Czech national team member in long-distance swimming and women’s world record holder from swimming the English Channel in a time of 7 hours, 25 minutes, was born in 1975 and has been swimming since childhood. While she has pursued indoor swimming, she has earned much more success on the open water. The swimmer, who has been at the top of long-distance swimming for several years, still has a lot of new challenges ahead of her, including the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
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