Vitor Borges Completes Cold Crossing from Leme to Pontal
Adherbal de Oliveira reported on another great swim by Vitor Borges in the Travessia do Leme ao Pontal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 41-year-old Borges announced in March to complete the 36 km coastal swim.
Oliveira explains, “Since March, Vitor intensified his training, doing an average of 50 to 60 km per week. It was not an easy task to manage your work with trips abroad with the planning of your coach Ricardo Rosa from the Ratto D´Água ABB Niterói team.
Two long training sessions were carried out. One of 10 km was performed in the initial part of the Travessia do Leme ao Pontal in September and another training swim of 23 km was swum in 7 hours 19 minutes to replicate his anticipated arrival at the finish durin the first week of October. Throughout his training, Vitor made the necessary adjustments in his hydration and learned the details of the 36 km course with its many natural beauties, but which also presents adversities capable of testing his physical and mental conditioning.
After a period of ten days waiting for the right weather conditions, the swim started at 2:33 am on October 22th with a calm sea and light wind, but with water with a temperature ranging between 15ºC and 17ºC, considered cold by most of the Brazilian swimmers.
The initial stretch along the Copacabana, Ipanema and Leme beaches was easily overcome. But when he reached São Conrado Beach after 14 km of swimming, Vitor had to swim hard to overcome the opposite current. At this time, the presence in the escort boat of coach Ricardo Continentino Ratto, a FINA referee who was honored by International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2020, kept Vitor calm and confident to overcome this stretch.
Once this moment of greatest concerns were overcome, Vitor maintained a pace close to 4 km per hour with the support of the Escort Boat Ladeia V with captains Manoel Luiz Fernandez and Max Paim Viglio and LPSA Observer Ricardo Ferreira. He finished the Travessia do Leme ao Pontal in 9 hours 45 minutes, becoming the 39th solo swimmer to complete the challenge.
From Leme to Pontal there is nothing like it!”
Copyright © 2008 – 2021 by World Open Water Swimming Association
