2 Filipinos warming up for cold-water crossing
Betsy Medalla’s profile picture in her Facebook account.
MANILA, Philippines—Water temperatures in and around the Robben Island channel have been hovering between 13 and 15 degrees, but Filipino swimmers Betsy Medalla and Julian Valencia are warming up to the bitter cold.
“They’re looking good. Swimmers who aren’t used to this kind of cold water often struggle. But Betsy and Julian look like they can handle it,” said Tony Cullen, head of the Clifton Lifesaving Club, who came to gauge the overall mental and physical fitness of the two swimmers.
Medalla and Valencia have just finished training in cold water in preparation for their historic open-water swim from the shores of Robben Island to the suburb of Bloubergstrand in Cape Town, South Africa.
“Just finished our last training swim and the water seems colder each time. I was able to swim longer and recover faster. I hope that it is enough for the main swim on Sunday,” Valencia said in a Facebook post on Friday.
“This swim will be difficult. The water is very, very cold. But I think we can handle it,” he said.
Tony Sellmeyer, technical coach of the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association, the governing body of the open-water swim, said Medalla and Valencia are “powerful swimmers” who can easily swim 7.2 kilometers.
“The biggest challenge is the cold water, which they are not used to, being from the Philippines. They need to continue this regimen and acclimatize until the day of the swim. But they must also be careful to do this gradually. We don’t want them to push their bodies immediately,” Sellmeyer said.
The event, dubbed “A Rainbow of Hope: A Celebration of Philippines-South African Friendship—The 1st Robben Island Filipino Swim 2014,” is the first attempt by Filipinos—and Asians—to be included in the book of Robben Island swims.
The team has a three-day window of opportunity—Feb. 8 to 10—to attempt to cross the Robben Island channel. The target date is on Feb. 9 but Feb. 10 is also an option, if weather conditions turn out to be more favorable on that day.
During the event, Medalla and Valencia will brave icy waters, with temperatures as low as 9 degrees, and swim 7.2 km from Robben Island to the Cape Town suburb of Bloubergstrand.
South African President and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, who died on Dec. 5, 2013, spent 18 years of solitary confinement and hard labor on Robben Island.
The two swimmers arrived in Cape Town Tuesday and impressed South African spectators who came to watch their cold-water training for the symbolic swim.
“This is a proud day for us Filipinos as we make an important mark in South African history,” said event organizer Buddy Cunanan, honorary consul of Georgia in the Philippines, who was interviewed on South African radio.
Cunanan said Medalla and Valencia began their training on Feb. 5 by doing a 10-km run along Cape Town’s seafront promenade.
Later that day, the pair dipped into the icy Atlantic Ocean for the first time at Clifton 4th Beach wearing standard swimsuits and goggles. The beach is an ideal place for training due to the relative calm water and surf.
Medalla and Valencia initially did a 30-minute swim, followed a few hours later by an hour-long training session in the water.
Cunanan said this twice-a-day regimen, interspersed with extensive roadwork, will continue and intensify until the day of the Robben Island attempt.
The consul said he stepped into the surf and it was “like placing my feet inside an ice bucket.”
“I don’t know how Betsy and Julian are able to do it. For those who think this swim will be easy, I can assure them it will be difficult. Betsy and Julian are warriors, plain and simple, world-class athletes. I have tremendous respect for them,” Cunanan said.
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