After swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar last month, Hsu Wen-erh now aims to become the first Taiwanese to swim the English Channel solo.
“My back tanned so much that it hasn’t faded yet,” 29-year-old Hsu said jokingly when asked about what impressed her most about swimming from Europe to Africa.
The biggest challenge, Hsu said, was the temperature of the water in the strait, which is as low as 15°C to 16°C even in summer. She arrived in Spain three weeks before her swim to adjust to the cold.
Photo courtesy of Hsu Wen-erh via CNA
Hsu was one of the three swimmers who tried to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco on Oct. 15, but an Indian swimmer got hypothermia and failed to complete the swim.
Hsu, who was at one point pushed off course by the current, swam an extra 3km, and finished the 16.2km route in 6 hours, 2 minutes, earning her a certificate from the Strait of Gibraltar Swimming Association.
It is safe to say Hsu could not have imagined achieving the feat when she chose not to join her high-school swim team nearly two decades ago.
Photo: CNA
Recalling her days in her elementary-school swim team, Hsu, who started training as a third-grader, said it was a painful experience.
“We trained twice a day, six days a week. There was no hot water for showers in the winter and we had to use cold water, not to mention the unfriendly environment for professional athletes in Taiwan, all of which made me reluctant to keep training,” Hsu said, adding that she swam only recreationally for the next 10 years.
It was not until her fifth and sixth year studying a double major at university that Hsu really fell in love with water activities.
In addition to serving as a swimming pool lifeguard, Hsu taught children to swim in her free time, and realized she was still fond of swimming and interacting with people, she said.
Hsu started a business as an open-water swimming instructor after graduation.
Her eyes were further opened in 2018 when she participated in a 10km open-water swimming fair in Thailand and met many people with experience in open-water swimming.
“Even though Taiwan is a country surrounded by sea, many of its people remain land-oriented, and that made me want to introduce some new ideas to Taiwanese,” said Hsu, who has taught more than 2,000 people how to swim in open water along Taiwan’s northeast coast.
Hsu began considering the possibility of swimming the Strait of Gibraltar last year, and she took on the challenge this year ahead of her original schedule thanks to her students’ support.
She is now targeting the 33km English Channel, considered the swimming world’s equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.
No Taiwanese swimmer has achieved the feat, said Hsu, who is planning to do the swim in 2025.
The most challenging part is not the swim, but how to prepare over the next 20 months while striking a balance between training, working and taking time off, she said.
The trip to Gibraltar cost her NT$400,000 (US$12,670) and swimming the English Channel would cost at least NT$1 million, a figure that has made many of her acquaintances question whether it is worthwhile, Hsu said.
However, she said she considers the money to be an investment in the future and has zero regrets.
“After all, being the first one is always the hardest. I hope ... [it] will be helpful for future challengers,” Hsu said.
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