My finswimming experience began in the Finswimming Panamerican championships in 2015. After that, I classified and competed in the Junior Finswimming World Championships where I improved all my times. Finally, almost one year later I classified to compete once again in the Panamerican competition that was going to take place in Palmira, Colombia. (LO4)

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For this competition I trained from January until March completing 200 hours of activity as we trained 4 hours each day during summer vacations and 3 hours each day in March. 

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During the competition in France, I had decided that for the next time I wanted to try the event of 50 meters apnea. Therefore, I had to watch videos, read books and ask friends to understand the technique so that my race was more efficient. Also, I had to train apnea almost every day because as the competition takes place only underwater, I had to practice how to maintain my breath through out the whole race. 

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At the same time, I still had to train for the events of 50, 100 and 200 mts bifins as I had the possibility to win medals in those competitions. In comparison to last time, my training was much harder and more specific. Therefore, my supplementation and eating habits had to change so that I could withstand the calories and meters. (LO4)

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The first weeks of training were incredibly hard and I felt as my body could not move anymore. All my muscles were sore. This is one of the most important parts not only because of the swimming but because of the mental difficulties as one wants to quit due to the pain. 

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After surviving those horrible times, I began to feel incredibly fast in the water. Now, I had more strength and velocity than when I had started to train. My times decreased significantly during training which motivated me to continue. Also, around this time I had learned how to use the monofin for the apnea event so my coach decided to test me on starts as jumping off the podium with the monofin is very hard. (LO2)

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One month later, there were about 3 more weeks before the big competition. This meant that training was going to get easier and I had to begin to take care of myself because I could not get injured. Also, masajes were important to reduce muscle fatigue and drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated. 

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We traveled three days before the big day. Another girl called Alejandra, my coach and I travelled together to Cali first. There, we trained with a Colombian swimming team as the pool in Palmira had not opened yet. We also went shopping and we gathered with some friends, which is always a very fun part of traveling to international competitions.

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On Wednesday afternoon, we traveled to Palmira which is located about one hour away from Cali. The drive there was easy and when we got there, the other countries were waiting for us. Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, USA, etc. we all staying in the same hotel. After lunch, we went to check out the competition pool. It was incredibly fast and it was greatly taken care of despite being in a small province. 

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That day we went back and slept early as we had to compete the next day. Resting and eating well is known as the silent competition because it is still crucial to do well during the race. The next day I had to swim the 100 meter bifins and I had a chance of winning a medal so I was really excited. 

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During the competition on Thursday, I felt ready to win. I was ranked third place and at the end I did get the bronce medal. However, I was not really satisfied with my results because I felt like I could have done much better but my legs died at the end of the race. This is an area which I will train for next time as I know that it can allow me to improve my times. (LO1)

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My next race was the 50 meters bifins. This is my strongest race so I was keen on doing my best and beating my competitors. I really like these short competitions because they allow me to go at top speed and to be explosive. I ended up getting second place but I was really proud because I improved my times and my ranking. I also felt very proud to represent my country and being able to bring home a silver medal. 

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My final race was the 50 meter apnea. This is swam with a monofin and it was the first time every I was going to compete in this. I was really nervous because starting with the monofin is very hard and it was. When they gave the start, I fell horribly and lost time. I quickly had to get myself together and dive and still I got third place. I was happy but then I realized the second one had beat me by 0.01 sec. I had donde 19.83 seconds and she had done 19.82 seconds. Nonetheless, I was still happy because it was the first time I competed.