Beyond borders

What are the universal things that connect us as swimmers, asks marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas

One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received from my open water swimming journey is the opportunity to meet and coach swimmers from around the world. Our relatively niche sport of open water enthusiasts means we’re all connected by a love of the water, which geography doesn’t divide. We all speak a common language, communicated via the shared body language of cold water after drops and chattering teeth. With open water swimmers, there’s an assumed passion for exploring and a sense of community that I’ve never found anywhere else.

Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to swim with kindred spirits in unfamiliar oceans and I’ve learned so many lessons from those shared sessions. In a time when many of us feel divided and isolated, here are some things I’ve learned from you that are universal:

• While some people inexplicably love sharks and relish swimming with them, we all fear the stinging of a jellyfish.
• Our temperature thresholds may vary, but there’s nothing like a good shiver to make the day better.
• Following up an open water swim with cake or breakfast with friends can cure almost any heartache.
• Politics don’t matter when you’re both battling the same tide.
• We all respect the power of the ocean, in a way non-water people don’t understand.
• Great boat captains, support crew and paddlers are worth their weight in gold and once we find one we love, we think everyone should know.
• Age does not discriminate in the water. You can get out swum just as easily by a 15-year-old kid as you can by a 90-year-old lady. And we definitely never judge someone’s swimming prowess by the size of their body.
• It’s normal to form an obsessive love for your local swimming hole or stretch of ocean, the one place you feel connected to the world and can find peace.
• There is power and joy to be found in swimming alone, but sharing the water with friends is always more fun.
• Gravity is very overrated.
• Regardless of whether I’ve been able to visit a corner of the globe I’ve never imagined or have just been able to talk with swimmers from other countries, I find happiness I knowing that there are others who feel about the water the same as I do. I know this world can feel huge, but the world of swimming brings us all together. Water people are simply made different; wherever I go, I relish that sense of community, that understanding, and that camaraderie.