Náchod results — updated
Updated 22 January 2013 following corrections to the official results.
After the non-competitive event in Pardubice, the second Saturday in January brought our first serious test of 2013. The preceding days’ frosty weather suggested that the 29 I. PKO swimmers travelling to Náchod would certainly not feel warm. That proved correct: snow, air at −5°C and water only 1°C above freezing awaited them. The original plan had been to swim a circuit, but despite the organisers’ enormous efforts that proved impossible, and we swam downstream instead.
The longest distance this time was 750 metres, with seventeen of our members among 55 swimmers. Petr Hubal and Artur Kubica achieved our best placings, beaten only by a trio of women from Brno’s Univerzita and Fides clubs. Our other swimmers did us proud too, all delivering solid performances and reaching the finish of the toughest course.
Thirty-two swimmers entered the second-longest distance, 500 metres. Eight represented I. PKO, led by our delegation’s youngest member, Terka Reichová, who had been prevented from moving to longer distances only by the season’s unfavourable conditions. She finished second in Náchod. Sadly, she would almost certainly have no further chance to earn Grade I before the Czech freestyle championships and would therefore miss the championship race. All seven of our other swimmers also finished safely.
Twenty swimmers chose the 250 metres. Our Petr Novák beat every opponent to claim a valuable victory. The other three club members were prominent too, forming another club grouping in the results: Lubomír Vít tied for third, Táňa Prokopová was fifth and Honza Slabý sixth.
Outside our home events, we rarely enter the shortest, 100-metre distance. This occasion was no exception: none of its 26 swimmers belonged to our club.
Confusion over the results was the one blemish on the Náchod event. Unfortunately, the start and finish officials struggled with paired starts at thirty-second intervals, and even after several corrections the results remained somewhat unconvincing. Interval starts evidently still cause problems in winter swimming. The organisers nevertheless managed to make amends when handing out prizes. Although the awards ceremony was effectively cancelled, almost all the leading swimmers, and many others, took something home. As usual, every active participant received a certificate.
Overall, following Choceň, Poštorná, Prague and Pardubice, we were the highest-scoring club for the fifth consecutive event, consolidating second place in the club competition. First place remains out of reach for now, mainly because of the warmer races.
Download the full results at the top of this article. Hradec’s Jirka Kuřina once again supplied the photographs: view them HERE.
After the coming free weekend, winter swimmers will return to Choceň for a second visit, where, as in Pardubice, times will not be recorded. A week later comes our second home event, with another Vltava swim, this time near our Braník clubhouse. The programme will include 2013’s first kilometre race and the final opportunity to qualify for the Czech championships in Brno.