Can Carlos Costa Qualify At Caledon Quarry?
Ever see the movie Contact? One of my favorite lines is "First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price? " It kinda feels like that every time I come back to the Caledon Quarry. For the last few years they have held 2 Global Swim Series events at the same spot. Barrie and his team keep the costs low so it turns out to be a great thing.
I'll give you a quick rundown of the night for me.
I did NOT eat a poutine on the way. I learned my lesson last time and had a bagel. Worked great. I swam the 4km again. I had major problems with pulling to the left the whole swim which I attribute to back stiffness from running the night before. Yes this is a thing. I had a fair time and a lot of fun. Some of the usual crew were there as well as some faces that had never swam there (Josh) and some that haven't swam in months because they introduced a new creature to the planet (Sarah). We got rained on ..... but we're swimmers. It led to fewer pictures but by the end of it all everyone went home with smiles.
But for some this wasn't the real story of the night.
If you don't know who Carlos Costa is you can just go right ahead over to this link https://goo.gl/uVAZHx and have a read. Carlos recently tried to hit the qualifying time to swim the Embrace The Challenge Lake Erie crossing (https://goo.gl/T7ceHk) by attempting to do 10km in under 4 hours at the North Shore Challenge. If you have been following you already know how THAT went. If not... you can just go right ahead over to this link https://goo.gl/RFrnRv and have a read. So - Caledon Quarry 2 was one of the last chances to hit that time.
Carlos has the love and support of the swim community even if the swim structures don't do the same. If you read the link above you know by now that Carlos is a double leg amputee. He is still one hell of a swimmer. The video above is me having some fun showcasing Carlos.
Under the towel are what Carlos uses to walk on land. They don't go in the water with him. He is not the 1st amputee I've come across either in this sport.... nor is he the 1st to bull moose his way through. Now - of all the swimming strokes freestyle is likely the one where his amputation hinders him the least. Many top level freestylers don't kick other than to "rudder". It is mostly upper body getting the job done. This is true for me. Knowing my time for a 10km I was confidant that Carlos would get this done.
It brings me great joy to announce to you that Carlos smashed the time necessary. In fact - he did it faster than I ever have in open water. A super huge congratulations to our friend and #SwimLegend - Carlos Costa. Fantastic work!
Another thank you to Barrie and his team. They've got this thing down to a science and the only thing they can't fix is the weather. It has been 2 great races there at the Quarry.
Until I touch the wall.....
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Michael Kenny
Masters Swimmer
Cambridge Mavericks
Marathon Open Water Swimmer
2015-16 Global Swim Series Champion
Contact Info :
F : https://www.facebook.com/swim.diesel
I : https://www.instagram.com/swim.diesel
T : https://twitter.com/SwimDiesel
E : m.j.kenny@swim-diesel.com
+ : google.com/+Swim-diesel
B : 53724F20
I'll give you a quick rundown of the night for me.
I did NOT eat a poutine on the way. I learned my lesson last time and had a bagel. Worked great. I swam the 4km again. I had major problems with pulling to the left the whole swim which I attribute to back stiffness from running the night before. Yes this is a thing. I had a fair time and a lot of fun. Some of the usual crew were there as well as some faces that had never swam there (Josh) and some that haven't swam in months because they introduced a new creature to the planet (Sarah). We got rained on ..... but we're swimmers. It led to fewer pictures but by the end of it all everyone went home with smiles.
But for some this wasn't the real story of the night.
If you don't know who Carlos Costa is you can just go right ahead over to this link https://goo.gl/uVAZHx and have a read. Carlos recently tried to hit the qualifying time to swim the Embrace The Challenge Lake Erie crossing (https://goo.gl/T7ceHk) by attempting to do 10km in under 4 hours at the North Shore Challenge. If you have been following you already know how THAT went. If not... you can just go right ahead over to this link https://goo.gl/RFrnRv and have a read. So - Caledon Quarry 2 was one of the last chances to hit that time.
Carlos has the love and support of the swim community even if the swim structures don't do the same. If you read the link above you know by now that Carlos is a double leg amputee. He is still one hell of a swimmer. The video above is me having some fun showcasing Carlos.
Under the towel are what Carlos uses to walk on land. They don't go in the water with him. He is not the 1st amputee I've come across either in this sport.... nor is he the 1st to bull moose his way through. Now - of all the swimming strokes freestyle is likely the one where his amputation hinders him the least. Many top level freestylers don't kick other than to "rudder". It is mostly upper body getting the job done. This is true for me. Knowing my time for a 10km I was confidant that Carlos would get this done.
It brings me great joy to announce to you that Carlos smashed the time necessary. In fact - he did it faster than I ever have in open water. A super huge congratulations to our friend and #SwimLegend - Carlos Costa. Fantastic work!
Another thank you to Barrie and his team. They've got this thing down to a science and the only thing they can't fix is the weather. It has been 2 great races there at the Quarry.
Until I touch the wall.....
*** Check out my new t-shirt store on teespring! *** https://teespring.com/stores/swim-diesel
Michael Kenny
Masters Swimmer
Cambridge Mavericks
Marathon Open Water Swimmer
2015-16 Global Swim Series Champion
Contact Info :
F : https://www.facebook.com/swim.diesel
I : https://www.instagram.com/swim.diesel
T : https://twitter.com/SwimDiesel
E : m.j.kenny@swim-diesel.com
+ : google.com/+Swim-diesel
B : 53724F20