The Argentine swimder Matías Ola abandoned, by hypothermia, his attempt to cross the English Channel without a wetsuit from the port of Dover, in the United Kingdom, to Cap Gritz Nez, in France.The athlete, born in Tucumán, sought to be the first Argentine in the United Kingdom conquer the Triple Crown in open water, which next to the crossing of the English Channel includes the Catalinas Channel in California and the return to Manhattan Island, both crossings already made in the United States.
“The last few days had become very cold and when we started the journey, at 6 hours in England the water temperature had set to 16.5 degrees, well below when we had trained.”
The swimman told the Télam agency that the cold began to have “leg problems” and shaking even though he thought it was a passing thing.” I began to disorient in the water to such an extent that I collided my body with the boat where my coach was going, there they warmed me up and hugged me,” she said. By the effect of hypothermia Wave was babbling and his captain noticed that he could not understand what the Tucuman was saying. It was at that moment that they decided to take him out of the water.” From there I don’t remember anything anymore and I dawned at the hotel,” the Tucumano said.
Matías Ola, Argentine swimder.
“The main problem was that I got into hypothermia,” the 34-year-old acknowledged, about the physical impossibility of competing. Matias already tested on the Molokai Canal in Hawaii until they ordered the cancellation of the crossing due to adverse conditions after being 18 hours in the water. And a month ago he was unable to conquer the Tsugaru Canal in Japan: he swam thirteen hours with an average of 46,800 strokes, but five kilometers from crossing the strait, they canceled the test by strong currents that had caused the Argentine to swim for three hours without move forward.” This is my passion, I love it and I hope to achieve my goals,” said Ola, who is already thinking about fulfilling the feat next year and another goal, such as crossing the Río de la Plata, between Punta Lara and Colonia, which involves swimming 100 km in 35 hours. In this note:
