Returning to the event of the 2023 race, I realized that my fears were misplaced. It wasn't my sensitive ears that posed the greatest obstacle—it was the impact of cold on my breathing, composure, and overall control.
The night before the race, I completed an online course on swimming in cold water. It turned out to be a fortunate choice.
Race day arrived, and with it, a whirlwind of emotions. We registered, collected our race packs, arranged our bikes in the transition area, and made our way to the swim start. There, a whiteboard displayed the temperature—16.1°C. I knew that water below 15°C was considered cold, but that single degree did little to alleviate my growing apprehension.
I cautiously entered the water, which initially felt tolerable. But as I began my usual front crawl, I found myself struggling to breathe. Each time I submerged my head, my ability to catch my breath diminished. And this was just the first leg of the race, with 750 meters of swimming ahead of me. Panic set in, as this was an entirely new experience that I hadn't anticipated. My previous training had been limited to pools and open water temperatures above 20°C, so a 16°C front crawl was a completely different ballgame.
Desperate to find a solution, I switched to breaststroke. To my dismay, this only drained more of my energy in the current conditions. I felt lost and unsure of what to do. Within the first 100 meters, exhaustion overtook me as I struggled to breathe, panic taking hold.