Elaine makes history with marathon Tralee Bay swim
TRALEE WOMAN SWIMS FROM FENIT TO BLENNERVILLE... AND BACK AGAIN
of enjoyment took me over. I can honestly say there wasn’t a bit of the 16km that I didn’t enjoy,” Elaine said.
She hit the water in Fenit at approximately 1:20pm and arrived 2 hours and 10 minutes later at Blennerville before making her way back to Fenit again; all the time under the watchful eye of Kevin Williams of Tralee Bay SC.
Under the rules, Elaine was required to briefly step out of the water at Blennerville to check her health. They also told her the Kerry minors had just won the All-Ireland.
“My friend’s son is on the team so I was delighted to hear they won. When I reached Blennerville three of my toes felt numb and I was afraid by the time I got back to Fenit my whole leg would go numb. Thankfully, my body had acclimatised fully to the point where it actually felt warm. I actually had a lovely swim back.”
They say once a swimmer, always a swimmer and even though Elaine has been swimming since she was knee-high, she gave up the sport for 25 years.
Astonishingly, Elaine is only back swimming two years having joined Kingdom Masters Swimming Club and Tralee Bay Swimming Club. Even though wetsuit swimmers are considered 10 to 15 percent faster in the water, Elaine would love to promote the benefits of non-wetsuit swimming to more people as it’s a totally different experience.
“It really is and I find wetsuits are too restrictive. It’s probably that bit tougher without one, but when your sport is your passion it’s seldom hard.
“I hadn’t told anyone I was doing the swim on Sunday, but by the time I approached Fenit there was bagpipes playing and people there to support me. It was just fantastic,” she added.