On Saturday 25 August, 56 swimmers, including 17 women, set off from Ústí nad Labem to Děčín in the country’s longest swimming race. The course runs 25 kilometres from below the Ústí lock to the finish beneath Děčín Castle. Conditions were favourable: the air was around 22°C and the water almost as warm. The only disadvantage was the Elbe’s flow, which was close to its historic minimum. Some participants could see this for themselves in Děčín at the so-called Hunger Stone, visible only during exceptionally dry periods.
Now in its tenth year, the event commemorates Prague Zoo’s greatest escape artist, Gaston the seal. When the zoo flooded in August 2002, Gaston reached the Elbe and swam much further than our race distance — from Prague all the way to Dresden. He was captured there in a state of complete exhaustion, but died from the effects of exhaustion and his time in contaminated water.
Once again, swimmers from I. plavecký klub otužilců Praha joined this wonderful race through scenery that gradually changes from the Central Bohemian Uplands to the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Our 28 swimmers made up exactly half the field! Everyone who finishes such a long, demanding swim is a winner, but it is still a race and the fastest finishers receive awards. There are just four categories: women, men, women with fins and men with fins. I. PKO also had swimmers on the podium:
1st, women: Nikola Kopecká
3rd, men: Zdeněk Sláma
1st, women with fins: Eliška Šimůnková
1st, men with fins: Jakub Valníček
2nd, men with fins: Jiří Petržílka
The oldest swimmer, fellow I. PKO member Ivan Landa, also received an award. Afterwards, the Děčín campsite hosted an afterparty with excellent food and equally good Kapitán beer from the local brewery. Most competitors stayed overnight at the very well-equipped campsite. It is worth adding that every registered swimmer reached the finish. Many thanks to organiser Tomáš Česnek, also of I. PKO, everyone who provided refreshments during and after the race, and all the support boats and their crews.