After 15 long hours of swimming in the cold waters of the English Channel, a 28-year-old man became the ninth Argentinian to swim across the Channel on Monday, Sept. 23.
According to Argentinian newspaper Clarín, Damián Wachowicz made the 34-km swim that separates Dover in English from Cap Gris Nez in France, in 15 hours and 18 minutes, swimming in 10 °C waters and against changes in the tides.
The Argentinian told the newspaper that his experience in water was "limited", a condition which did not impede him from challenging two of his colleagues in the career of Business Administration in London, experimented swimmers Phil Kearny of Australia (lifesaver) and Danish Jesper Ludolph (member of the national swimming team).
Despite finding himself in an evident disadvantage, the young man prepared with a rigorous training routine, and last Monday, he became the ninth Argentinian to swim across the English Channel.
"I organized a training plan, made a fattening diet and looked for inspiration, something that would push me to do what I did: swimming nonstop for 15 hours and 18 minutes," Damián told Clarín.
A Noble Cause
Damián found the inspiration he needed in people living in precarious housing, families that organization "Techo" is building new homes for.
In his native Argentina, the 28-year-old swimmer was a volunteer for the NGO and participated in a construction program in low-income housing areas of the country. Four years after settling in London, the feat carried out last Monday allowed him to raise $2,800 he will donate to the NGO.
The biggest inspiration for the Argentinian was "a father that wakes up at 4 in the morning to go to work. When he came back home, he helped his children with their homework. The misery and the strength to keep moving forward. I had to swim, exhausted, dying of cold. But they have it bad all year long," concluded the young man.