Tuomas Kaario braved cold water and cramps to become first Finn to swim English Channel without a wetsuit
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Undoubtedly one man from Espoo woke up on Sunday feeling himself very happy, but also very tired.
That man is Tuomas Kaario, who made swimming history of sorts on Friday by being the first Finn to swim across the English Channel without a wetsuit.
Kaario, who started off in Folkestone on the south coast of England, expected to reach France in about 16 hours, but unexpectedly, he landed on the sands of Calais three and a half hours earlier.
“I had good luck. The tides and the currents happened to be good, and being in good shape naturally helped”, said Kaario on Saturday morning.
“Psychologically I am still in a somewhat sensitive state. I did not manage to sleep at all last night. It’s like having a high fever and a hangover at the same time. My mouth and my throat are sore and swollen from the salt."
Kaario says that the effort was more severe than he could ever have imagined, and he was quite close to quitting.
“Before the halfway point I prayed that there would be some honest reason to stop - a terrible storm or a cramp. I felt really bad, and I threw up a couple of times”
After that things started to pick up, however.
The English Channel is about 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, but sea currents move the swimmer around and lengthen the distance to about 40 kilometres.
Kaario will not know the exact length of his crossing until later, but he believes that the number of kilometres that he swam was less than average.
I know for certain if there would have been a countercurrent at the end, and if the crossing would have taken two hours longer, I would not have made it to the other side. I gave everything that I had, and I was completely exhausted”, Kaario admits.
The final stretch of Kaario’s trip was in darkness. “For the last half hour I asked Antti (Paronen) to follow me closely, because I no longer knew if I was swimming on the surface or below. I was afraid that I would drown.”
Kaario’s supporter and feeder in the accompanying boat was Antti Paronen, who swam across the English Channel more than two years ago. However he did it in a wetsuit.
According to Kaario, the temperature of the water is 17 degrees, but it would drop now and then to less than 15 degrees. Kaario’s arms began to cramp before the midway point, and leg cramps came whenever he stopped to eat and had to tread water.
“When swimming you can’t think about the cold too much. However, the sun was shining and actually warmed my back. It was a psychological boost to see light and the sun.”
Kaario waited in England for the opportunity to swim for about a week; bad weather prevented him from embarking on the swim for a number of days.
Friday was Kaario’s last chance, but in spite of everything, the week of tribulations had a happy ending.
So where does Kaario plan to swim next?
“In an indoor swimming pool. Next Friday there is baby swimming. The water is 32 degrees Celsius, and I am happy to go there”, Kaario says.
That man is Tuomas Kaario, who made swimming history of sorts on Friday by being the first Finn to swim across the English Channel without a wetsuit.
Kaario, who started off in Folkestone on the south coast of England, expected to reach France in about 16 hours, but unexpectedly, he landed on the sands of Calais three and a half hours earlier.
“I had good luck. The tides and the currents happened to be good, and being in good shape naturally helped”, said Kaario on Saturday morning.
“Psychologically I am still in a somewhat sensitive state. I did not manage to sleep at all last night. It’s like having a high fever and a hangover at the same time. My mouth and my throat are sore and swollen from the salt."
Kaario says that the effort was more severe than he could ever have imagined, and he was quite close to quitting.
“Before the halfway point I prayed that there would be some honest reason to stop - a terrible storm or a cramp. I felt really bad, and I threw up a couple of times”
After that things started to pick up, however.
The English Channel is about 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, but sea currents move the swimmer around and lengthen the distance to about 40 kilometres.
Kaario will not know the exact length of his crossing until later, but he believes that the number of kilometres that he swam was less than average.
I know for certain if there would have been a countercurrent at the end, and if the crossing would have taken two hours longer, I would not have made it to the other side. I gave everything that I had, and I was completely exhausted”, Kaario admits.
The final stretch of Kaario’s trip was in darkness. “For the last half hour I asked Antti (Paronen) to follow me closely, because I no longer knew if I was swimming on the surface or below. I was afraid that I would drown.”
Kaario’s supporter and feeder in the accompanying boat was Antti Paronen, who swam across the English Channel more than two years ago. However he did it in a wetsuit.
According to Kaario, the temperature of the water is 17 degrees, but it would drop now and then to less than 15 degrees. Kaario’s arms began to cramp before the midway point, and leg cramps came whenever he stopped to eat and had to tread water.
“When swimming you can’t think about the cold too much. However, the sun was shining and actually warmed my back. It was a psychological boost to see light and the sun.”
Kaario waited in England for the opportunity to swim for about a week; bad weather prevented him from embarking on the swim for a number of days.
Friday was Kaario’s last chance, but in spite of everything, the week of tribulations had a happy ending.
So where does Kaario plan to swim next?
“In an indoor swimming pool. Next Friday there is baby swimming. The water is 32 degrees Celsius, and I am happy to go there”, Kaario says.
Helsingin Sanomat