Article published Jul 29,
2008, SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE
By BILL MOOR
Tribune columnist
.
Mallory (Cook) Mead started her English Channel swim Saturday by sticking her
backside toward
It was still long before daybreak, and the native of
"I struggled to point my rear in their direction, collected myself, took a
deep breath and waved my arms to signal I was ready," Mallory wrote in her
blog. "Then the whistle blew and it all started.
And after that, I never looked back toward
Ten hours and 34 minutes later, she pulled herself onto shore in
Mallory, 22, had been stung by jellyfish and then suffered excruciating
shoulder pain during the last three hours of her 22-mile journey."I
may never be able to lift my arms above my head again," she wrote in an
e-mail.
Yet she had completed the most famous feat in long-distance swimming: crossing
the
On Monday, she returned to the scene, but this time in a boat as her longtime
friend and swimming partner,
Mallory, a recent graduate of
Her swim started smoothly enough despite the darkness and the cold water.
"In my head, I was singing any song I could think of that had to do with
warmth or sunshine," she said. "For the majority of my swim, I was in
good spirits, keeping fairly warm and feeling good.
"I shivered most of the swim, but no uncontrollable shivering, although my
jaw was sore at the end from the clenching."She
would refuel about every 30 minutes, taking on juice drinks and energy gels.
She treaded water during these times but could not touch the boat or she would
have been disqualified as an official finisher.
Then, after about seven hours in the water, Mallory ran into jellyfish.
"The first few were a couple of feet below me, but then I felt a sharp
stinging sensation in my rear," she reported.
That woke her up. Another one stung her leg.
But those were minor pains compared with her shoulder problems soon afterward."When I started asking the crew where this '
Wearing goggles, Mallory first caught a glimpse of the French coast on this
low-visibility day after about eight hours into her swim. By that time, she was
doing what she calls a "swimmer's limp" -- pulling herself through
the water mostly with her right shoulder, which wasn't hurting as much as her
left.
"I stopped often. I cried out in pain. I didn't know it at the time, but
my mother was pleading with my crew to pull me out. No one asked me if I wanted
to get out."
Mallory would have said no. She had trained too hard not to grit it out.
Finally, she could make out people on the beach near Cap Gris
Nez, France, and Clara jumped off the boat to pace her friend over the last leg.After several more minutes of toil, Mallory's fingers
hit sand. She stood up and trudged to shore, falling a few times on the way.
"It was a public beach, so happy vacationers were staring at this swollen
sea creature that arose from the water covered in thick white grease (for
warmth) and groaning in pain."
But she had made it and yelled out to buddy Clara that it was the hardest thing
she had ever done in her life.
Not long after, she was on the boat heading back to
"Once we got back to shore, it was almost anti-climactic," Mallory
said. "I took a quick picture with my crew and walked back to the hotel."She ate, showered and then went to bed and
slept until 7 o'clock the next morning. When she went down to the hotel's front
desk, she asked the clerk what there was to do in the area.
He responded that the beach alongside the Channel was a popular place to go.
Mallory passed on his suggestion.
|
Bennett swims Channel, too |
|
Clara
Bennett became the second area athlete in two days to swim the |
Bill Moor's column appears on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Contact him at bmoor@sbtinfo.com, or write him at the