Adrian Healy of Mallow Masters Swimming Club travelled to Switzerland at the weekend to compete in the Zurich lake Swim, a distance of 24.4K (over 15 miles), and despite exceptionally hot conditions swam brilliantly to finish second in his category. The marathon swim from Rapperswil to Zurich City was very testing on the day, but Adrian defied this to finish in 8 hours, 43 minutes, well inside the 12 hour cut-off time. Race start conditions were the hottest for years and the water temperature well past 24.5 degrees but with a few thunderstorms in the area it was expected to cool down. The race itself was tough with very hot sunshine, but at the halfway point swimmers were hit with a storm that capsized a few boats and caused many competitors to withdraw at the 14KM mark. Once the storm passed and the swell died down, however, the race picked up again and swimmers drove on for the finish line.
Adrian finished in second place in his category with a time of 8 hours, 43 minutes and earned a place on the podium in 2nd place, with an Italian coming first and an Austrian in third.
Adrian this week thanked everyone for their support, especially his wife Susan who travelled to Switzerland with him and travelled in the boat, preparing his carbohydrate and energy drinks every 30 minutes and pointing out all the landmarks so he knew where he was. “She was fantastic, I could not have taken on this event without her help”, he said. Adrian also thanked Mallow Credit Union, Petrochem and the Arches Bar for sponsorship, and all in Mallow Masters who helped with training ,in particular Kieran Horgan and Denis Merritt for the outdoor early morning training sessions in Inniscarra.
When asked what challenge he wanted to take on next, Adrian said, “Who knows, but it is definitely time to rest”.