Here we are! The season is in full swing. We have already completed fifteen races, held every Saturday around the Czech Republic in pools, rivers, lakes, ponds and reservoirs. We have tried it all: water below 2°C, 1,000 and 750 metres, and some of us even the ice mile. Today brings one of the highlights of the 2014–2015 season, the Czech Winter Swimming Championships in freestyle, in all categories, in Brno. We will see how well everyone has prepared.
Tomáš Pilát sent our entries, Zdeněk Tlamicha arranged the car sharing, and on Saturday morning we set off for Brno… The weather and journey were fine. Brno welcomed us with blue skies and sunshine, just like last year, though this time the temperature was below freezing rather than 6°C.
As usual in Brno, the Svratka was around 1°C, ready to put our preparation thoroughly to the test. Judging by our races and training this year, we were well prepared; the rest depended on each swimmer’s fitness and health on the day.
Registration and the marking of race numbers on bare shoulders went smoothly, and soon Michal Moravec called us to assemble for the opening ceremony. The Czech anthem played. When it ended, some of us older swimmers still found ourselves waiting in vain for the Slovak part: even 22 years after Czechoslovakia split, the Czech anthem somehow felt incomplete…
A resounding sporting cheer — ZDAR! ZDAR! ZDAR! — told everyone that racing had begun.
The 100-metre swimmers entered first, completing their distance in two to four minutes.
Next came the main men’s and women’s categories, ages 18–39, over 750 metres. There was no doubt about the men’s winner: Rosťa Vítek of Fides Brno finished almost three minutes clear. Silver medallist Michal Hájek of Univerzita Brno had nobody close to race and followed comfortably in second. The real battle was for third, where Tomáš Pilát of I. PKO surprisingly beat fourth-placed Martin Homolka of Fides Brno. After that, the finishers came thick and fast…
In the main women’s category, Renča Nováková of Pardubice led from start to finish ahead of Magda Okurková of Fides Brno. Both were faster than every man except Rosťa Vítek. At one point, young Renata became tangled in the centre rope and Magda closed in, but once free, Renča recovered and defended her narrow lead. Radmila Srbová of I. PKO finished third some way behind, followed by Monika Bandíková of Haná in fourth.
Czech Championship results, PDF
After all the championship swimmers had finished, Czech Cup entrants who had not qualified for the championships also swam, determined not to miss the opportunity to earn points.
Czech Cup results, PDF
Recovery: returning to normal body temperature.
When swimmers spend more than five minutes in icy water, the body cools and loses heat, affecting coordination and orientation in a way resembling drunkenness. If body temperature falls below a critical level, consciousness can be lost, with potentially tragic consequences if the swimmer is still in the water.
Some of the leaner swimmers struggled with Brno’s icy water. Michal Kohoutek was fortunate that our women helped warm him properly, so his recovery went smoothly. Roman Křupka even decided to withdraw after 500 metres, which I consider a very sensible decision. Although Roman is one of the youngest winter swimmers, his judgement was mature. It is better to get out early under your own steam than remain in the water and have to be pulled out half dead. A tragedy at one of our competitions would be a disaster and seriously damage winter swimming’s reputation. Roman, we wish you success in the remaining races: the season is not over, and I believe you will reach the podium this year as you did last season.
The prize ceremony
Technical problems delayed the prize ceremony a little, but all the swimmers enjoyed it nevertheless. Twelve sets of medals and trophies were presented. Petr Mihola could not resist a few characteristically pointed jokes about relations between Prague and Brno, but I found them funny and do not think they heightened our rivalry. We are one family, wherever we come from. Afterwards, all the prizewinners posed for a photograph, said their goodbyes and set off home.
Thank you to the organisers for a well-prepared and well-run competition.
Next week is a break. I recommend individual training to maintain or improve fitness and endurance, because in two weeks we return with two races: Olomouc on Saturday 21 February 2015 and Katowice on Sunday 22 February, hosting the open Polish Championships.
Ivan Landa’s photo gallery:
