World of Water: Meet the swimmers behind our lead feature
The world we live in is messy, turbulent and, at times, downright scary. But around the world, outdoor swimmers, kind, welcoming, warm and generous people, bring us so much joy.
In our latest issue, we meet four wonderful swimmers from around the world who contributed to our lead feature, World of Water. Buy the issue to read it in full, or click here.
Our first story comes from Prabina, who was born in Nepal, learned to swim in Hong Kong and now runs an amazing community group in London.
Part 1: Prabina’s story
Being the first Nepali woman to complete the London Classic Medal was absolutely humbling as I was doing the activities – running, cycling and swimming – just for the pure joy of it. All the achievements that came along with it was a huge step for being able to inspire and motivate others from Nepalese and other communities and to be proud of being an example of what an ordinary person can do by ‘pushing boundaries’, paving the way for those who dare or dream to do the same.
Finding a community
When I started running in 2017, I didn’t see many Nepalese runners and coming across young Nepalese runners was an exciting time for me.
In 2022, I came across an amazing Nepalese running community called the Runderbolts, and since then, I’ve been an active member. I soon realised that some of the runners swam, and some were learning to swim. As one of the experienced swimmers, I started more conversations around swimming, supporting a very small group pool sessions, encouraging them to try open water swimming, and leading sessions at various lakes.
This led to our Swimmerbolts community and having more regular open water swims in 2023 and 2024. Some of our swimmers then took part in their first Swimathon UK, London Triathlon, T100, Dock2Dock, Swim Serpentine and Aquathlon events – as well as our first season of cold water swimming. We are a grassroots community, no membership fee and it’s all about supporting each other and the joy of swimming.
Swimming in Nepal
Nepal is still a developing country, and sports and physical activities, especially for women, can still be regarded as a privilege and not a must in some parts of the country. Age can be a barrier, as for some, the perception is that when you get to a certain age, like over 40, life is only to live and not to strive to better yourself or self-care.
Fortunately, from the age of 4 to 10 years old, I was brought up in Hong Kong as my dad was in the British Army as a Gurkha, where I had the opportunity to learn how to swim along with my sister. I am very thankful to my parents that my sister and I had the opportunity to learn swimming at a young age.
I have fond memories of going to our after-school swim club, ‘Dolphin Club’ I can still visualise safety swims with pyjamas on, throwing stones and retrieving them from the bottom of the pool (back in the 80s we didn’t have any fancy sinkers like we do now), being naughty and not wearing goggles to see how red our eyes would get from the chlorine, pretending to be synchronised swimmers with friends and taking part in swim galas. I remember my mum sewing all our swim badges onto a towel.
Now in my 40s, getting back into swimming in 2022 after nearly 36 years has had a significant impact on my life
Now in my 40s, getting back into swimming in 2022 after nearly 36 years has had a significant impact on my life, being able to share the joy of swimming and the physical and mental health benefits for the Nepalese community of all walks of life, genders and ages. Diversity amongst Nepalese and other Black and brown communities is improving, but there’s still a lot more to do.
