Swimmers Profile No.13 Laura Lopez-Bonilla

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Spain's Finest distance swimmer and a regular down at Dover harbour.
Laura hopes to cross the Channel for the 3rd time and be one up on Cliff
Golding (our next guest when he finally replies) andMontserrat Tresserras.

1: Name- Laura Lopez-Bonilla

2: Age- 40

3: Resides- Canterbury, Kent, UK

4:Swimming Highlights- All of my swims are pretty special for many reasons, but crawling out of the beach at Sangatte in September 2006 was pretty special. My round island Jersey was one of the best swims I’ve ever had. Total synchronicity between mind body and spirit. Magical and rare.

5:Biggest influence and coach – My grandfather, Freda Streeter, Alison Streeter

6:Swimming Idol- Captain Webb and Shane Gould. He was the first (it’s his entire fault!). Shane held all the freestyle records at any one time and is a personal friend.

7: Pool or Ocean- Ocean

8:How many kms a week- 10 k, sometimes more, sometimes less.

9:Longest swim and how many hours in the water- 15 hours and 39 minutes, my first Channel swim in 2002

10:Favorite place you have swam- Wylie’s Baths in Coogee, Sydney and Halong Bay in Vietnam (Laura will soon change to Brighton Baths when she Journeys down to Melbourne)

11:Coldest place you have swam and temp- Dover Harbour on Christmas Day, 6ºC, brrr!

12:Roughest swim eg. Wave height and wind speed- My first attempt at round Jersey Island swim. I swam 5 h and 30 minutes in F5. In the last half hour the wind increased to F6 and the swim had to be called off due to a severe weather warning. Literally, a minute before that, I was praying to God for some divine intervention that would stop the swim. He listened. The experience, however, taught me to swim in rough water. Not sure about the wind and the waves, but it was far from pleasant!

13:Swimming goals- A third (and last!) Channel Swim

14:What or who motivates you- The amazing sense of achievement one experiences and an overall sense of inner pride. Yeah! I can do it!

15:How much is Physical% 100 Mental% 110

16:Favorite saying- Do the thing you think you cannot do (Eleanor Roosevelt)

17:Biggest fear swimming eg..cold jellyfish,sharks etc.. Just not getting any injuries or shoulder problems that would force me to abandon a swim.

18:Swimming close calls- I got hit by a single sculler in Dover Harbour and got a broken nose. That was close! I have also bumped into Kevin Murphy (King of the Channel) in the middle of Dover Harbour. He’s got a hard scull too and a habit of bumping into other swimmers.

19:Tips for other swimmers – Don’t get out! I did once, and couldn’t forgive myself until I successfully swam the Channel again.

20:What would you eat and drink during a swim- Normally bananas and tea with Maxim, but I also love tin peaches and rooibos tea! And chocolate…

21Worst place you have swam- The Albert Dock in London and the Serpentine in Hyde Park

22:Worst injuries- Subluxation of right shoulder, kept me out of the water for 6 months, tendonitis in left shoulder on and off for the last 6 years.

23:Favorite food,drink,music ,movie and holiday destination- A Spanish cold soup called “gazpacho”, sweet cider, green tea and white wine,U2,the Kwizloski (sp?) trilogy:Blue,Red,White, Paxos in Greece and Sydney.

24:What do you think of when you are in the water for hours- All and nothing, thoughts just drift in and out, sometimes I entertain myself with what people are doing on the boat, or I think of some dear lost relatives (my grandparents) and close friends, getting through the next half hour, I also listen to the bubbles of my breath which helps me concentrate and “not think”. I also play songs: Don’t stop me now! by Queen it’s a favourite.

25:Where is one place you haven’t or would like to swim-Catalina Channel

26:3 people you would invite to dinner- Can I invite dead people? OK, if I could dine with the spirits, I would invite my grandparents (they count as 1), Matthew Webb and Gertrude Ederle (they never met!).

Ok, ok, real people…Alexander Popov, Rafael Nadal, and Esther Williams (I used to watch all her movies when I was a kid).

27:Cold water tips-Get used to it gradually, there’s no other way.

28:Toughest competitor-Myself!

29:Diet and how much is weight a factor on long distance swims- I just eat anything, except fry ups, red meat and stuff full of saturated fats.

30:Pet hate- Putting petrol in my car and drying up the dishes.

31:Biggest thrill-It has to be that sweet feeling of putting my feet down and feeling the sand when I landed at Cap Blanc Nez in the middle of the night on August, 4^th 2002.

32:Favorite sport besides swimming- Running, must get back into it.

33:Who would you like to sit next to on a plane-Rafael Nadal, I love his fighting spirit.

34:Car you drive- A Vokswagen Polo.

35:Next swimming challenge- Jersey to France, Straits of Gibraltar, third Channel swim.

36:Occupation- Language Teacher

37:D.O.B. 22/03/1968

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Alby