Lucy Young discovered she got more joy from her son’s swim than her own
There are some euphoric moments in life, where you do actually want to bottle your emotions. A moment where everything comes together, in perfect harmony. When a long-anticipated event somehow exceeds expectation.
That’s how I felt on Knoll Beach on Sunday. I’d entered the Seahorse swim, which is a buoyed circuit off Studland beach: 2km, no wetsuit. I’ve swum this event twice before and loved it each time. I have fond memories of family holidays in Dorset, so I relish opportunities to return. I committed as soon as entries opened, and I had been anticipating the swim ever since.
But, this year, the swim was even more special. Not for any of the reasons above. Not because I won (I was only quick enough for 5th this year), and not because the sun shone (it did, by the way), but because I was there swimming with my 16-year-old son, Ed.
To give you some context. Ed is a great athlete. He turns his hand to all manner of sports. He swims with a club, but chose the ‘fitness squad’ over competitive, as he wanted to have time for basketball, badminton, mountain biking, water polo, and any other sporting opportunity that came his way. I know he has power and raw talent in the water, as he beats me, and pretty much everyone else, to the ball when we are playing water polo, but he is totally untested in a formal gala or an open water swimming event.
When I am in the pool with Ed, when I am cycling side by side with him, or when I am sat behind him on our tandem, I know that he is a kindred spirit when it comes to sport and exercise. He likes to push himself and to hone his skills, and he is a great observer, unusually perceptive for a teenage boy. He has come to support me at many swimming competitions, both in the pool and out, and last year he started to get tempted to have a go himself.
Turning 16 opens up open water opportunities, and this summer, having completed his GCSEs, seemed like the perfect moment to take the plunge. When I entered the Seahorse swim, he decided to join me. Also 2km, but wearing a wetsuit.
Doubt and uncertainty
I recognise that this all sounds straightforward, but our ‘summer of fun’ plans went awry when Ed broke his collarbone (again) at the start of his Easter Holiday. Another mountain bike accident which left him battered and low, a prolonged period of uncertainty about surgery, and a challenging start to his exams in a sling, and in pain. Recovery was delayed this time, complicated by the previous break. He wasn’t able to return to swimming until just before the event. Three days before, he wasn’t confident he could even attempt the swim, and he resolved to make the decision on the day.
It is heartbreaking to see your son battling with physical pain and emotional distress. He agonised over the accident and the plans he had ruined. But he is determined, and that makes me so proud.
When Ed decided to swim, my heart was already brimming with pride. He entered the water ahead of me to secure a spot for the in-water start. Self-reliant, confident and independent. Probably not just ‘in it to swim it’. More likely, determined to beat me around the course.
I was still pondering that when the start horn sounded, and I can’t claim I took the best line to the first buoy, but I was swimming strong and enjoying the water. I found myself in a sea of neoprene arms and legs at the first turn, and I pushed hard to find some clear water. That’s when I spotted Ed, just ahead of me. And that’s when the euphoria set in. I can’t express how proud I felt that he was there, swimming strong, navigating well and totally smashing it. I was buzzing with pure joy, loving the water, and enjoying the swim more than I ever had before. I somehow nudged past him; perhaps experience gave me the edge, so that meant I managed to watch Ed finish. Incredibly, he was 3rd in the men’s 2km wetsuit event. Not too shabby for a debut open water swim, but even more impressive, given the rollercoaster of the previous months.
We are both beaming in the post-swim photos, and I am still beaming now, while I write. Ed actually wore his finisher’s medal for the rest of the day, and that warmed my heart too. There is nothing more joyous than introducing your child to a sport you love, to see them embrace it so fully, and so competently. To do this on the back of adversity has magnified those emotions even more, and that’s why I want to bottle them – and share them.
