“Now I have no excuses – I’m excited to start my open water journey”

Our lucky reader and swim event newbie Miaya Dangol won a full set of open water kit from ZONE3 and a free place at this year’s Swim Serpentine. We’ll be following Miaya’s journey as she prepares for the event and learns to master front crawl in her new kit

Sponsored content

Meet Miaya:

“Coming from a family from landlocked Nepal, with no educational attainment, no sporting background, no exercise culture, meant I was never brought up around any encouragement to participate. I ‘had’ to go swimming at school, but I hated it. Wearing glasses from a young age, I hated taking them off and being unable to see by the pool.

I have two daughters, and I was mindful of how they saw my relationship with water, so I really urged my daughters to take swimming classes. I would always watch them and feel admiration.

When I turned 40, I started running, or at least learning how to run. In 2020, aged 44, I did my first half marathon – The Big Half with Runderbolts. It was amazing. I connected with my partner while running. As he was in the British Army, sports came to him very naturally. In 2023, he entered a triathlon and did some practise with an open water swim. I remember thinking, ‘That water is so dirty – that will never be me.’

But in 2024, I bit the bullet and decided to learn how to swim (again). I started back in the pool. Runderbolts had branched out into Swimmerbolts, and they were supporting the community to explore open water swimming. I was so scared and worried for my first swim, I couldn’t even face the camera. I remember meeting a lovely lady, Cora G, who was planning to swim across the English Channel. I thought if she can do the English Channel, I can do a 75m loop! She gave me some tips and supported me around the loop. My partner and my Swimmerbolts friends, have been very supportive, meeting me at the Quays, or giving me tips in the pool. This is really where my open water swimming journey began.

It has been comforting to have someone beside me when I do an outdoor swim. I am really excited to embark on this swimming journey; it is my first time attempting to do an open water event!

I figure, it is my 50th year of existence approaching, so why not? I have come to love the open water. The community is so friendly, and the cold water swimming has really supported me with clarity in my personal life and better connection with nature for my wellbeing.

I am elated to have won the competition. Now I have no excuses. I can’t front crawl in open water yet, but I am hoping that I will try and conquer that “can’t” by Swim Serpentine!”

Next month Miaya will be sharing how she’s getting on with her swim training and preparing for Swim Serpentine in her new ZONE 3 kit.

ZONE3 design high-performance swim products built through athlete experience, technical precision, and real-world testing. Their mission is to create equipment that delivers speed, efficiency, and confidence in every environment, supporting swimmers of all levels with proven performance they can rely on. Find out more