Simon Holliday
Next time you want to hit the surf, talk to Simon Holliday. He holds the world record for the fastest swim from Hong Kong to Macau: 35km in 10 hours and 20 minutes. He shares some open-water swimming tips with Kate Springer.
HK Magazine: When did you start swimming competitively?
Simon Holliday: I didn’t start until my mid-20s, and that’s when I learned how to swim properly. I had coaching in a local pool for about six months, and then I started doing triathlons.
HK: What was swimming to Macau like?
SH: Macau had only been done once before in 2005, so I actually hold the world record—even though it was only swum by two people. I had a boat next to me for support: You have to stop every hour for someone to throw you a bottle of carbohydrates, chocolate, and jelly babies. But because it’s a major shipping lane, there was also an outrigger canoe on my other side, so I was just following along. When you are swimming long distances, you don’t want look up and be like “Are we there yet?”: the land doesn’t seem to get any closer.
HK: Where do you train in Hong Kong?
SH: There are two open-water swim clubs, and that is a great way to start out. You have different groups—so you have an “A” group, the fast and experienced swimmers; and then you have a “B” group for those who want to stay inside the shark net. There’s always someone looking out for you.
HK: Does the open water ever freak you out?
SH: I am really interested in the psychological element. It gets better with experience. The worst thing you can do is panic because you don’t know what’s underneath you, or you’re worried about the current. That’s obviously something you have to mindful of, but you should swim with other people. It’s relatively benign around Hong Kong—it can get choppy, but there aren’t any waves crashing on top of you.
HK: If you want to swim alone, what should you do?
SH: You really shouldn’t go swimming alone in the sea. But if you are swimming on your own, you should wear one of these fluorescent floats—like a cord that you strap to your waist. You can grab onto it if you get tired, but also you’ll be spotted by boats.
HK: What’s the hardest thing about open-water racing?
SH: When you have tides and currents and things, you tend to go all over the place. I try to “sight”, or pop my head up a little bit every six strokes or so, to try to see where I’m going. So you look to the side and then you look forward to make sure you’re going in the right direction. It’s relatively easy to make it part
of your stroke.