2 Pinoy swimmers become first Asians to cross
SAfrica channel. Suffering from near hypothermia, Filipino swimmers Betsy
Medalla and Julian Valencia try to keep warm after crossing the icy waters of
Robben Island Channel in the Cape Town suburb of Bloubergstrande in South Africa
on Sunday, February 9. The two are the first Asians to complete the crossing
during the 'Rainbow of Hope,' a celebration of Philippine-South African
friendship. Buddy Cunanan
Betsy Medalla and Julian Valencia emerged this morning from
icy waters in the Cape Town suburb of Bloubergstrand to become the first
Filipinos—and first Asians—to complete the Robben Island Channel
crossing.
The event, entitled “A Rainbow of Hope: A Celebration of
Philippines – South African Friendship,” was organized by businessman and
philanthropist Consul (a.h.) of Georgia in the Philippines Buddy Cunanan, in
cooperation with the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association (CLDSA), which
supervises and certifies all Robben Island swims.
The swim was done to
commemorate the life of the late Nelson Mandela, to thank South Africans for
their outpouring of support for Filipinos after Typhoon Yolanda, and to raise
money for the survivors of the calamity.
Medalla and Valencia swam from
Robben Island, where Mandela was jailed for 18 years. Braving the threat of
great white sharks, poisonous jellyfish, and water temperatures that went down
as low as 11 degrees, the pair completed the trial without any cage or
protection clothing and wore only standard, regulation swimming
attire.
Furthermore, as per the rules of the CLDSA, they had to swim from
Robben Island and make it unassisted to the shore of Bloubergstrand, at least
one meter from the waves, to be recognized as an official swim and to be placed
in the record books.
Initially, the pair was supposed to swim 7.2
kilometers. However, they ended up covering a slightly longer distance of 8.6
kilometers as the captains of their guide boats had to change course to avoid
rough ocean swells and perilous rocks.
The pair began their swim just
after 8 a.m., with Medalla eventually completing it in 2 hours and 34 minutes,
followed by Valencia who made it in 2 hours and 52 minutes.
Because
Medalla and Valencia swam at different paces, they had one guide boat each, with
a skipper, rescue swimmer, and a personal swim assistant.
Two Cape Filipino volunteers—Sean le Roux and Ricardo Pastor—were
also aboard the guide boats, encouraging Medalla and Valencia all the way and
assisting them with their rehydration. Photo courtesy of Buddy Cunanan
Rapturous welcomeUpon reaching
the shore, both swimmers were met by an ecstatic crowd that included their
support group from the “First Filipino Robben Island Swim Team” and members of
the local Filipino community composed mainly of members of the Pastor Clan,
whose patriarch Severo Pastor fled the Philippines to avoid persecution by
Spanish colonial authorities and came to Cape Town in 1867.
The “Cape
Filipinos,” as they call themselves, came in droves, wildly applauded and
cheered, and immediately rushed to the beach to embrace the arriving
swimmers.
“Thank you very much Betsy and Julian for doing this. We feel
especially proud and happy to reconnect with our country of origin and at the
same time to celebrate its ties to our mother country South Africa,” said Claire
Prins, a 2nd generation Cape Filipino.
Two Cape Filipino volunteers—Sean
le Roux and Ricardo Pastor—were also aboard the guide boats, encouraging Medalla
and Valencia all the way and assisting them with their rehydration. Two days
before, the Cape Filipinos also held a welcome party for the swimmers to
introduce them to the community.
Near hypothermiaBoth swimmers reached the shore
pale, exhausted, and shivering intensely. However, Valencia was visibly more
affected by the cold than Medalla and was clearly suffering from near
hypothermia, muscle cramps, and spasms.
Unable to walk properly, Valencia
was assisted by officials of the CLDSA, who immediately brought him to the Big
Bay Lifesaving Club, where he was covered in warm towels and blankets and
several hot water bottles.
Cunanan and members of the Cape Filipino
community took turns embracing Valencia to give him bodily warmth in order to
stop him from shaking. It took over 45 minutes before Valencia could speak
audibly or drink water or be fit enough to take a warm shower.
“Because
of the cold, this swim was the most difficult physical challenge I have ever
done. We are used to distance swimming in the Philippines but the cold of the
Atlantic Ocean definitely made it challenging,” said Medalla. “We had to keep
moving to keep our bodies heated.”
Both swimmers spoke of the tremendous
mental difficulty of the swim, particularly in the last kilometer when they were
most exhausted and when the temperature abruptly dropped from 15 degrees to 11
degrees. Furthermore, this was not only the pair’s coldest open water swim but
also the longest at 8.6 kilometers.
“This was the hardest thing I have
ever done. I would take any Iron Man challenge any day of the week over this,”
said Valencia, after recovering.
“There were several times when the
strain of the cold water was nearly unbearable, especially at the tail-end of
the swim, and I questioned whether I could go still on. But it was the thought
of all those supporting me back home and the people who were waiting for me on
the shore that sustained me,” he added.
“Definitely, the mental aspect of
this was extremely difficult. I said five rosaries during the swim and this gave
me strength. The last part was the most difficult when we could see the shore
but had to deal with the temperature that dropped drastically. This was when our
mental toughness was tested,” said Medalla.
Betsy Medalla: 'I said five rosaries during the swim and this gave
me strength' Photo courtesy of Buddy
Cunanan
“I would be lying if I said that the thought
of quitting didn’t cross my mind,” he added.
However, despite the great
physical and mental hardships they were enduring during the swim, Medalla and
Valencia kept on and never backed down. Members of their crew had nothing but
deep respect and admiration for their Filipino charges.
“I am so
impressed with Betsy,” said Medalla’s rehydration assistant, Cape Filipino Sean
le Roux. “She is such a powerful swimmer. From the start, she was like a demon
in the water. She just got in there and swam and swam and swam like a machine.
What a woman.”
For his part, Valencia’s assistant, Ricardo Pastor,
another Cape Filipino, was all praises for Valencia, whom he later helped
recover from hypothermia.
“Tremendous respect must be shown this man for
what he accomplished. We knew he was battling the last kilometer when his
strokes became slower and his form more erratic. But never once did he give us
any sign that he was giving up,” said Pastor. “I kept asking him if he was okay
and every time it was a thumbs-up!”
ReactionsThe swimmers were also flooded with
words of praise from friends, supporters, well-wishers, and bystanders at the
beach and at a small victory ceremony which was later held at the Big Bay
Lifesaving Club, where bottles of champagne were opened and commemorative coffee
mugs were given out.
“We are so proud of Betsy and Julian. In behalf of
the Cape Filipinos whose forefathers first arrived on these shores almost 150
years ago, we wish to extend our heartfelt congratulation to these swimmers for
a job very well done,” said Ken Eckardt of the prominent Pastor Clan, which
traces its roots to Palompon, Leyte.
“This was a fantastic achievement
because of the history of the island, the cold water challenge, and the people
who support them. It’s not a one-person thing. It’s a team effort. What makes it
even more remarkable is that they have never done any cold water swimming,” said
Tony Sellmeyer, CLDSA Technical Coach.
“It takes a different type of
human being to do this. And to think that they have never done any cold water
swimming only makes the accomplishment greater,” said Quintus Visser, who made
the long trip to Bloubergstrand after hearing news of the swim on
television.
Training and
preparationBecause Medalla, 44, and Valencia, 40, both
accomplished tri-athletes, had never done any extreme cold water swimming,
measures had to be taken to get their bodies used to the icy temperature of the
South Atlantic.
Prior to their departure for South Africa, they trained
for several days in Baguio City’s unheated Athletic Bowl swimming pool, where
the water temperature at 12 degrees approximated conditions in the Atlantic
Ocean.
The pair continued their acclimatization in Cape Town, doing
extensive roadwork and doing swimming for one hour twice-a-day off Clifton’s 4th
Beach, under the supervision of the CLDSA and the Clifton Lifesaving Club, led
by master lifeguard Peter Cullen.
Medalla and Valencia also placed
themselves on high-protein, high-carbohydrate diet and stayed away from caffeine
and alcohol, in anticipation of the physical demands gruelling challenge
ahead.
Over 400 people—mostly South Africans—have completed the channel
crossing since 1909. Of the number of attempts by foreigners, only 16% have been
successful. The Robben Island swim team was supported by Qatar Airways, Rhenus
Logistics, Tyr Endurance Sports, PSI, and the E.T. Dizon Travel
Corporation.
“Filipino First”
Movement“This is a great day for Filipinos. With this swim, we
have proven that Filipinos are equal to any task and can achieve anything,”
Cunanan announced to South African press. “With this historic accomplishment, it
thus gives me immense joy to announce the official launch of the ‘Filipino
First’ movement.”
Cunanan said his group, which includes tourism
practitioner and media specialist Melissa Dizon, will push for record-breaking
achievements by Filipinos all over the world and is already organizing the first
Filipino swim across the Straits of Gibraltar in July this year and the first
Filipino solo flight across the Atlantic in 2015.
His group will not only
focus on athletics and physical challenges, however, but will also spearhead
historic achievements by Filipinos in other fields, including business,
sciences, and the arts.
Cunanan is calling on Philippine companies and
cause-oriented groups to support his initiative.
“We will show the world
that we Filipinos can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it and come
together as one people,” he said. “It is time to bring the pride back. We are a
great people and a great nation. We are no longer the sick man of Asia. Our time
has come.”
— KBK, GMA News
