"Icebergs interfered with our swims"

At the Winter Swimming World Cup held in El Calafate, Argentina, Russian athletes broke their medal record. They won 24 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze medals. Pavel Alferov, who got acquainted with this type of swimming only last winter, made a significant contribution to the common piggy bank. In Argentina, he won five gold medals in individual heats, and one more in the team event. Pavel told about his journey in an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express.

I had four winter training sessions before the World Cup

— You won five individual medals at your debut winter Swimming World Cup in Argentina. Is this your first international competition?

— Most likely, yes. Before that, there were only Russian swimming and triathlon competitions.

— How did you get into winter swimming in the first place?

— I started swimming at the age of seven in Volgograd, and at 15 I took up triathlon. At the same time, I got acquainted with open water swimming. At 16, he moved to Moscow to attend the Olympic Reserve School, where he continued to practice triathlon. Often, when we were training and performing, the water temperature was below 18 degrees. Therefore, I was more or less prepared for the cold. Yes, we performed in wetsuits, but our faces, toes, and hands were still freezing. I graduated from triathlon because I went to university — to the RSUFC. There he began to swim in the national team of the university. After graduating from university, he began coaching.

If we return to the question of my getting into winter swimming, then at first I discovered hardening for myself — I stood under a cold shower. I really like the effect of it: happiness, joy, dopamine, I felt great all day long. I started with 30 seconds and added five seconds every day. So it got to three minutes. Then winter came. I started walking barefoot in the snow, also as a form of tempering. After the bath, I sat in the ice hole for one and a half to two minutes.

Then an idea came to mind, why not just sit in cold water, but swim in it. I have heard that there is such a story in Moscow. I found information about winter swimming on the Internet. So last winter I joined the group of Andrey Zamyslov, who trains every weekend on the rowing canal in Krylatskoye. I came, Andrey gave me a briefing, I went down into the water and swam my first 50 m crawl. I had a lot of fun. Yes, it's cold. Yes, it takes my breath away. But I warmed up for 10 minutes and went to the second swim. It went on like this for two or three weekends. And then Andrey said that on February 23, competitions dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day would be held at their pool. I performed at the 50 and 100 m crawl, after which I completely forgot about winter swimming. That is, in February was my last training session, which was probably only the fourth in a row.

Sometime in June, Andrey called and invited me to participate in the Dmitry Volkov memorial swim. It was held in warm water. On it, Andrey asked if I had a passport. I said there is. And everything was forgotten.

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Then, literally 2-3 weeks before the start of the World Cup, I was told that there was such an opportunity to participate in competitions in Argentina. I agreed. That's how I ended up in the Russian winter swimming team.

— Was there any special preparation for the World Cup?

— When I found out that the tickets were taken and I was going, there were about two weeks left. I realized that I had to do something and at least mentally prepare for the competition. I train at the Luzhniki stadium, where there is artificial snow in the spa area, which the kids also like to play with. After class, I would go there, stand in the snow for one and a half to two minutes, pick it up for three minutes so that they would get used to the cold, plus I would put snow on my face. Because these are the three main parts that freeze the most.

— How did people react when someone stood in the snow for a long time?

— When I applied snow to my face, my cheekbones and face cramped, so I sank down, one might say, to my knees. They came up and asked, "How are you feeling? Is everything okay?" I explained that I was just getting ready.

— Did you have to take time off from work to participate in the World Cup?

— I work as a personal trainer, so I set my own schedule. I warned the guys I work with and wrote a program for them for these 10 days of my absence. Therefore, there was no one to ask for leave. However, I also organize open water swimming competitions for amateurs. One of the launches was scheduled for August 9th. But I also warned everyone that I would not be able to attend it, since I would be in Argentina at that moment.

We got to Argentina for about 43 hours, and the next day we started

— This trip was not funded by the Russian Ministry of Sports, but was organized by sponsors. Have you ever had to look for funds or invest your own?

- no. Andrey Zamyslov was involved in all this. I just had to take the pocket money. Accommodation, travel, tickets, and uniforms were paid for.

— How was the flag story resolved? After all, the International Winter Swimming Federation was against our participation under the Russian flag.

— Andrey and his wife Elena coordinated everything through the embassy and the organizers. They initially had an agreement that we were invited on the condition that we could use the flag. That's why we already knew about it.

— How did you get to Argentina?

— We started on the evening of August 2nd. The first flight is eight hours to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. We had a four-hour transfer there. From there we started to Buenos Aires. The second flight took 16 hours.: first, 14 hours to Sao Paulo, Brazil, then refueling and two hours to the capital of Argentina. Then there was an overnight transfer in Buenos Aires for about 7-8 hours. And three more hours to El Calafate, where we lived. That is, the whole journey from Moscow took about 43 hours.

— Was there any time allocated for acclimatization?

- no. We arrived on the morning of August 4th. We checked into the hotel, checked in, got accredited, had dinner. And the next morning, the start was already underway.

— How did the body feel after such a flight?

— Due to the fact that El Calafate is located in the middle mountains - about 1 thousand meters above sea level - at first there was a slight feeling of malaise. At the registration, we met with doctors who conducted an experiment on the effect of cold water on the human body. They asked for an ECG and blood pressure measurement before all the swims, and the same after each race. In the evening before the competition, my blood pressure was about 160/100. I've never had anything like this happen to me.

— I saw that you were very warmly welcomed, hugged, said "Viva Russia!". Was this atmosphere surprising?

— I knew that Argentines are quite friendly guys. But, of course, the atmosphere surprised me a little. I haven't had an international trip for a long time. And when they were, I didn't travel from the Russian national team and didn't really advertise where I came from. We didn't look askance on vacation, but we didn't feel a warm welcome either. Now we had a uniform that said "Russia," a coat of arms, and a flag. People came up, took pictures, and chatted. I didn't expect it to be so positive. Plus, these competitions were held for the second time. A year ago, half of our team already performed on them. They were already known. They mostly approached our captain-coach Andrey Zamyslov and Alexey Zharkov, who was then shining in Argentina and won many prizes.

— There were not only friendly Argentines, but also participants from Poland, Finland, and Canada. How did they react? Have you ever met any negative views in your direction?

- no. There were participants from 15-16 countries. There were no excesses or problems. There was a fairly titled Pole in my category, Michael Pearl. I didn't know him, but the guys knew him. We met him at the airport. Everything went great: we talked, took pictures.

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After 200 meters, the toothache did not go away for a long time.

— Was this your first experience of swimming in open water among the ice?

- yes. The maximum I had when I was swimming in open water before was 12-13 degrees. Plus, I swam either in an ice hole or in a pool cut out of the ice. But to combine everything together — both open water and ice — this is the first time.

— Aren't you afraid to go into the water?

— In any case, it was a little stressful, especially at the beginning. The most difficult thing is to go into the water. If we take the competition in a regular pool, then we all go down the stairs together: three-two-one-start. That is, it takes about five seconds. Here, while everyone gets into the water and aligns in one line before the start, you stand in knee-deep water for about a minute and wait for the signal to swim. At this moment, your legs are cramping from the cold and your fingers are numb. It's hard. And when you jump into the water after the start, you forget about the cold and just swim. At short distances, such as 50 m, you don't even have time to freeze. It's only when you get out of the water that you realize it was cold.

— Does he walk at a distance of 200 m?

- 200 m was the most psychologically difficult distance for me. Because I've never swum so much in cold water before. I didn't know how the body would behave. Due to the fact that it is open water, there was no accurate measurement of the distance. If you look at the time of passage, it becomes clear that we swam a little more: not 50 m, but about 80; 200 m felt like 230-250 m. That's why I was in the water for more than four minutes: the result was 3:15, plus while we were standing before the start, plus while we got out after the finish. That's why it was scary.

I asked Andrey and the other guys what I should do. I was told that the most important thing is to breathe deeply. If shallow, shallow breathing starts at a distance, your chest will tighten due to the cold, and you will stop, plus panic will begin. I listened to the advice. I immediately started breathing deeply, which helped me cope. But at this distance, I could feel my cheeks starting to ache, and my head was freezing, even though I was wearing two hats. Besides, for about ten minutes after I got out, the toothache did not go away. I'm fine, I endured it. In principle, you can try a longer distance.

— Do I understand correctly that Mark Mordovtsev tore off a nail during a competition in Argentina?

- yes. This is generally a feature of open water. There is not always a good surface on the shore. Therefore, you need to run into the water and run out carefully. At the finish line, we need to swim under the arch so that our time is fixed. But in Argentina, it was quite shallow under the arch. Sometimes I had to run, because it was already impossible to swim, otherwise you'd skin your stomach and knees. When you run over rocks in the heat of battle, which can be very sharp, and because the water is cold, you can't feel your feet. That's why you might not even realize that you've hurt yourself. It was the same with Mark. He did not feel that the nail had come off, and only then did he see the blood when he was already walking towards the bathhouse. I also had a small cut on my finger, but the guys quickly wrapped and fixed everything for me.

— What other injuries are common in winter swimming? What else happened at this World Cup?

— Mostly torn legs. Plus, there was a situation when we swam 50 m breaststroke with Alexey Zharkov. We swam to the buoy, turned on it together, and bumped a little bit within the acceptable limits. He made a few strokes with a crawl, which is allowed by the judges on the buoys, and his hand touched the buoy, on which there were several ropes. As a result, he became entangled in these ropes and could not untangle himself on his own. I only found out after the finish line, when I had already sailed, but Lehi was not there. A rescuer helped him get out. I have not seen any other injuries or incidents. There was also a 500 m distance. Maybe something was happening on it, but none of our people sailed it, so we didn't follow.

— What was the level of athletes? Did amateurs with a potbelly participate at all?

— Yes, there were men with a potbelly, and such thick-set women. They weren't very fast swimmers, but they were good at it. Anyone can take part. I got a doctor's clearance, I came, I showed up, and you can perform. That's why someone was fighting for medals, and someone was just getting high.

— Were there any fans?

- of course. Support groups came — wives, friends. There was constant hype. And the participants themselves were standing and shouting. We did not feel a lack of attention. There would probably have been more spectators if the competitions had not been held in the national park. The cost of one visit to this park is about $30. As participants, we were given an exception. We paid for one pass and used this ticket all day.

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Rescuers pushed icebergs away manually

— You won five individual gold medals at your debut World Cup. Did you expect a similar result?

— Last year, the guys brought 37 medals, 21 of which were gold. Plus, I was guided by Alexey Zharkov, who won many prizes at that time. Therefore, I probably understood that I would compete for medals and that I could compete with the guys.

— And how were the award ceremonies held there? Was the anthem played?

— We had a little problem during the competition. It consisted in the fact that on the second day the wind picked up. With it, the waves rose and icebergs began to float. They blocked the way on the trajectory of the swims. As a result, the competition stopped, and the rescuers manually pushed these icebergs away. In addition, due to the high waves, the conditions have become difficult for the performance. In the middle of the second day, the organizers interrupted the starts. The next competition day was completely canceled due to a bad weather forecast.

Due to the fact that a day and a half was wasted, they began to catch up on other days. The competition was supposed to end on Friday, and an award ceremony was planned. It took place outdoors and began when it was already dark. Therefore, there were no normal photos from the award ceremony. Plus, there were a lot of people, a lot of categories, and time was limited. Therefore, we conducted everything quickly. No anthems were played, but everyone came out with a flag.

— Are there any prize money?

— The prize was the applause of the participants and medals. No diplomas, nothing like that. At the first award ceremony, they gave me some kind of local shampoo. Shampoo was no longer given for the rest of the race, and the rest of the participants did not receive it. I don't understand how I was so lucky.

— How does it feel to be a winner of international competitions? Surely, when we started playing sports, we had such ambitions.

— Yes, of course, there were such ambitions. At school, I always wrote in my essays that I wanted to become an athlete. The goal, like everyone else's, was to win the Olympic Games. I couldn't compete at the Olympics, but I got the opportunity to go to the World Cup. Standing on the podium of the World Cup is quite prestigious. I was happy for myself, for the country, because we could represent it with a flag, which, in principle, we have not had for the last six years. That's why I felt proud.

— How was your welcome at home?

— They greeted us very pompously at the airport: with flowers, TV cameras, shouting "Russia!", "Hurrah!", "Forward!". People were happy to see us. After such a hard flight, it's doubly pleasant. It was very cool.