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Todays quest on swimmers profile is our first from Black Ice
1: Name- Terry O Brien
2: Age- 52 years young
3: Resides- Parkdale
4:Swimming Highlights- Rottnest Solo / English Channel Solo - 2006
5:Biggest influence and coach – Alby Bardoel –Open Water
6:Swimming Idols- Britain’s Alison Streeter & New Zealand’s Phil Rush
7: Pool or Ocean- That’s easy, I hate Black lines
8:How many kms a week- In Summer around 10 km’s in winter around 7 km’s
9:Longest swim and how many hours in the water- English channel Solo 2006 15 hours 50 minutes
10:Favorite place you have swam- Best swim in Australia – Manly Beach around to Shelley’s Beach in Sydney (the variety of fish is mind blowing.
Best overseas- the first day in Dover harbour, because of the extra salt in the water it so buoyant, but this feeling disappears after the first day.
11:Coldest place you have swam and temp- Brighton Baths July 2007 – 6.5 degrees Celsius – initially your blood rushes to your vital organs leaving your outside nervous system with a delightful burning sensation.
12:Roughest swim eg. Wave height and wind speed- 4 metre swells and 25 knot winds Rotto 2006, but water temp. 19 degrees = good fun
13:Swimming goals- To get as many Black Ice swimmers across the English Channel as possible
14:What or who motivates you-
I had a serious stroke (brain injury) back in 1995, which forces you to reflect upon life (my first” ounce of luck”was that I came out of the operation with full faculties- I had the stroke at a time in life when I was extremely fit)
Open water swimming brings out the boy larrikin in you. Alby Bardoel has been my main Driver and a helpful mentor. Terry McMaster introduced me into the sport, and in terms of motivation , it is hard to go past Yvonne’s 18 and a half hour Solo crossing of the Channel epic in 2005. She had to contend with rough water from start to finish and an electrical storm off the Coast of France. Even Alby got sick of the English channel for a couple of days after that monumental effort.
I remember becoming passionate about the sport at the time when Alby and I were swimming out to a pole off Rickett’s point in Beaumaris at 6 a.m three mornings a week in rain , hail or shine, and it did get rough at times.
15:How much is Physical 50% Mental 50 %
16:Favorite saying- An ounce of luck in life is worth a ton of judgement/ just do it!
17:Biggest fear swimming eg..cold jellyfish,sharks etc../ that would be jellyfish, I swam head first in to a big blue one when I was a toddler.
18:Swimming close calls- I suffered hypothermia in the Rotto Solo swim in 2006.
19:Tips for other swimmers – Copy John Haywood’s stroke. No –swim at a pace your comfortable with and enjoy the variation of surroundings.
20:What would you eat and drink during a swim- Maxim and the occasional banana, anything else is cosmetic.
21Worst place you have swam- There all good, but my favourite event is the tide assisted “Pier to Perignon.”
22:Worst injuries- i dislocated my right hip in the summer of 1975 which caused bad oesti-arthritis 10 years later, which was good because it turned me into a swimmer (that was my second big ounce of luck) Actually, swimming in cold salt water eliminates the pain when sleeping.
23:Favorite food,drink,music ,movie and holiday destination- Seafood, red wine, Jack in “One flew over the Cookoo’s nest “ Derby day Flemington Race Course”
24:What do you think of when you are in the water for hours- Life –Yours, mine, ours
25:Where is one place you haven’t or would like to swim- the middle of the South pacific- French Polynesia
26:3 people you would invite to dinner- Phar lap, Makybe Diva and Amberino.
(Terry we asked for people not horses)
27:Cold water tips- Float backwards until you part acclimatise then swim slowly for a period.
28:Toughest competitor- Dan Kennedy , although he’s getting faster. But seriously, there’s no competition in open water swimming, your competing against your own mind.
29:Diet and how much is weight a factor on long distance swims- You need to bulk up by eating fatty foods and taking chloresterol tablets and drinking Guiness (or diet coke if your a vegetarian and teetotaller)
30:Pet hate- Robert Mugabe
31:Biggest thrill- hitting the shores of France with support swimmers Terry McMaster & Jon Haywood in pitch black conditions on Monday morning 12.10 a.m , and signing my name thanking my wife Deaane and Emily Abbie and Tilly (Daughters) for their support.
32:Favorite sport besides swimming- Aussie Rules football
33:Who would you like to sit next to on a plane- Warren Buffet
34:Car you drive- Holden Commodore
35:Next swimming challenge- 10 Pier to Perignon’s in a row (Sorrento pier to Portsea Pub)
36:Occupation- Financial Planning Dealer Group Director
Alby
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