Taiwanese swimmer Hsu Wen-erh last week drew one stroke closer to achieving the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming after becoming the first Taiwanese to solo swim across the 32.5km Catalina Channel.
On July 20, the 30-year-old became the first Taiwanese to solo swim across the 33km English Channel.
Together with the 48.5km 20 Bridges Swim, a circumnavigation of Manhattan Island that Hsu plans to attempt on Oct. 20, the English and Catalina channel crossings constitute the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
Photo: CNA
Only 333 people have completed all three swims.
The Catalina Channel lies between Catalina Island and the California mainland. Hsu started from the island side at 10pm on Tuesday last week and reached Rancho Palos Verdes in southern California after 13 hours and 21 minutes.
The Catalina Channel Swimming Federation congratulated Hsu in a Facebook post after she completed the swim, and the Taiwanese national flag was raised on the navigation ship.
“A dilemma facing Taiwan is that we cannot use our national flag at the Olympics, but through acts of citizen diplomacy like this, we can ensure Taiwan is seen in the world on different stages,” Hsu said.
Under the federation’s rules, swimmers are not allowed to wear wetsuits or touch the navigation ship during the swim.
The California swim was her first at night, Hsu said, adding that she was struck by the bioluminescent algae she saw glowing in the dark water, resembling a starry night sky.
The scene reminded her of the movie Life of Pi, and it was especially moving during the long swim, as all her other senses were shut off, making the spectacle even more poignant, she said.
Another surprise came at sunrise, when after swimming for eight hours, Hsu started hitting the “wall,” but when she saw a large group of dolphins leaping past her as the sun rose, she almost forgot how exhausted she was, she said.
Long-distance swimming is a solitary sport, where, apart from the navigation ship, it is just the swimmer and the ocean, Hsu said.
Once she gets into the zone, her body and mind enter a meditative state, with her focus only on the strokes and breathing, she said.
“When you face difficulties and feel like you are not making progress, you need to know how to manage your low spirits and keep moving forward,” she said.
Hsu, who is also a swimming coach, has competed in open water swimming, also known as marathon swimming, for six years.
Without any sponsors, she has to cover all her expenses, including flight tickets, registration fees and navigation boat rentals, she said.
Her passion for the sport stems from her love of nature and a desire to promote the beauty of the ocean, she said.
Hsu said she especially appreciates the beautiful waters around Taiwan.
“I want more people in Taiwan to know that we are surrounded by so many [beautiful] oceans,” she said.
“We should embrace the ocean,” she added.
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
WORLD SERIES: ‘The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community,’ the Los Angeles county sheriff said Rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the LA Dodgers won the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores and lighting fireworks. A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials said that most fans celebrated peacefully. Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area on Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the MLB World Series at Giants Stadium in New York. Another video showed someone standing atop
RSS