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WMS - Open Water Swimmer Pat Gallant

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Open water swimmer Pat Gallant speaks to students at WMS

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Miss go ahead and shred it is a nurse wife mom grandma I was getting sad world record holder and she's not dumb at age 66 I did want to just say that she's from mean she's from actually Westbrook Maine and right now you live in Windermere was Sochi what's right right around and she happens to have some friends at the school white Miss Ross chips in front of his. For listeners and I think you're going to be kind of amazed I was going to hear this morning thank you thank you thank you so much 20 years ago I never ever imagined I was become a marathon swimmer and go on to break 6 World Records in Marathon swimming because they're in that time I left my life I considered myself a spectator mom but also what I never imagined that I was going to become stereotyped now I know that you kids have been learning about the stereotypes but I wasn't expecting that at the age of 50 that I would be cereal type and you know what it was about my age and also being over-weight okay one swimmer laugh when he heard that I was going to attempt the English Channel which is a 21 month swim laughed right Bellacino's stereotypes it's about a group and people will have a belief that is unfair untrue but they sink because someone is the not capable of swimming a great distance and that's what I felt with this individual that he took the belief that I was too old to swim but it was not the person didn't know that I was listening but they mentioned my weight and they thought I was too fat to swim 21 miles yes it did it hurt but you know what I raised myself above it and I said I believe in myself that I can do whatever is in my house Amber I want to do and I am going to give it a try and if I fail at it at least I tried so at the age of 58 attempted to swim the English Channel 16 hours and 43 minutes of swimming and I came within 1.7 miles of the finish of and I knew I was going to reach France but then an unexpected happen there currents off the coast of France was so intense that it was pushing me away from France and the swim was stopped and in the marathon Swimming World they call it an unsuccessful swim was I disappointed yes I but was I defeated absolutely not because it was in my heart I knew that I had the ability and I did not care about what the cereal type that one person sad about me being too old and another person saying to me that I was too fat to do that distance so was I was bound and determined I was going to go back to it and try the English Channel again this time I was there for 2 weeks pie wins the whole time the whole time no swim took place I had to go back to Westbrook without a swim disappointed but again not defeated you know you have to learn in life there are people that will say negative things but you have to rise above it I'm just saying that some people that's all they ever want to say is negative things they don't want anyone to succeed but I did go back spider and a lot about stereotypes I remember my grandfather talking to me about some of the immigrants that came to Westbrook his grandparents came from and when they arrived some of the people not all but some of the people were stereotyping them and they were not accepted and then my mother was telling me that when grandparents came from Canada the exact same thing happened to them they were made fun of and it was hurtful but they realized stereotyping was back then too hang out with you as you are in school people will say some negative things rise above it also when my brother what is it looking for a job and going on to school he decided to become a nurse that you would not think that jobs would be Mario typing and it is it has been in the past my brother has been a nurse for almost 40 years but 40 years ago was not accepted 40 years ago at doctors at being Just For Men and nurses just for women but things have changed because people are understanding that stereotyping is wrong can't don't stereotype a group of people to say that a man can't be a nurse or woman can't be a doctor, what do you have in your heart just wait for children when I was growing up in the fifties there was a lot of stereotyping with chores at home I grew up with six brothers sand girl chores and the boy shorts that was wrong because girls can empty trash just as easily as a boy can and it's to do dishes and clean the house as well as Girls Camp cake when I started to have children I taught them about stereotyping and I'll tell you my daughter when she was younger as well as a boy what you want to do you go for it and is very important for girls equal boys you are equal if the boys want to try something new like ballet something that is not accepted go for it just like if you want to try other sorts go for it okay one of my friends she's a world-famous swimmer and she had a comment about her weight stereotyped her before she swam the English Channel she's waiting on her she was successful and she broke the world record for the fastest time taxi taxi cab driver told her that she was too fat to swim the channel well she proved otherwise that's stereotyping also and running the Boston Marathon when I was 16 years old to run in the Boston Marathon and it was a Kathrine Switzer enrolled and she ran it in the official site to stop by today she and a lot of other women the Boston Marathon as we progressed this evening and we will learn to recognize the stereotypes in to rise above it English Channel swim in the ocean sevens and I want you to judge for yourself if I was too old or too overweight to do the most challenging swims in the world. The ocean sevens consists of the English Channel the Subaru straight the Catalina Channel That's from California to Catalina Island Channel between Ireland and Scotland also between Spain and Africa play some of the most challenging Slims I'll be going to New Zealand the North and South Island in 2019 I've already completed 6 of the swims okay let me just show you this T-Mobile thank you thank you Canada Post thank you I want to talk to him okay this was my very first attempt and that resulted in a failed to swim 2009 and went back again it was high winds I ended up swimming 32 miles my crew members consist of people of all different ages is my brother is almost 70 years old as you say that in English Channel Do You Want to dim the lights a little bit this is the feeding sometimes I use the pole sometimes a pro bono album we call it Dalton go okay this is just a few months ago I accepted the English Channel again this time I was going for the world record for the oldest woman I ended up going in June the water temperatures were very very cold my son Tom decided me years ago to get into Swimming by saying how you can if you try is my son my husband are my grandchildren Dover Beach people from all over the world come to Dover to swim the English Channel all accept each other pencil clips of Dover the shark I have to get onto the beach rules on Scott on dry land and end on dry land and this is why I decided we should jump off the boat and swim to the shop but a little tomato braised a sin and here on the shadow across the channel the water temperature was very cold 80% of a swim I wanted to quit because the water temperature was so cold we are was trying the world record I kept on telling myself that you've been training in the state of Maine with a water temperature is just as cold what is absolutely beautiful to be looking at those Doberman since this is another thing here they threw out a bottle and I usually have liquids and I usually 30 seconds or less I'm trying to drink it and then going rules of any of these Marathon swims you cannot touch the blue person cannot touch you 7 hours into the swim Amazon Kindle I did not have the best conditions any of these swimsuit pilot that is associated with the with the swim and also we have to have the channel Association have them also as you can see just watching this over and over and over it's almost like watching paint dry it's just very monotonous or swimmer the English Channel is the busiest channel in the world we had well over a hundred tankers that went past that you guys I was swimming is very closely monitored the boat pilot actually has a camera on me at all times and he's able to watch but you can see him swimming at the same case I wasn't slowing down because of my age this time I was swimming tell son to feel a little bit of hypothermia I thought I saw this large dorsal fin right behind me and it's what it was was an ocean sunfish but I thought it was a shock but it was not now you can see that France isn't that far off it's daylight I'm still swimming it's been going on 14 hours of swimming my son at this point thought it was going to take about an hour to get to the finish line for the currents off the coast of France a very very strong again every I sought every hour to get something to drink now what you see the red that's the route in the current to see how sean why the was not letting me getting into France look how close that is is daylight the next video you can see is Darkness I didn't finish her 11 o'clock at night it took well over 3 hours to swim 1 mile and that was because of the currents it showing on Neely the 17 hours France I walked up on the beach it was in total darkness there was a small ding that followed me in cuz they have rules they have to have an official launch a walk up the beach then they brought me back bye I'm here I said to my son Jesus I never thought this was happened because like I said 80% of the time I wanted to quit I'm all bundled up in blankets because of hypothermia is the Finish Line in Grand Prairie stop the world record for the oldest woman thank you thank you what is the famous restaurant that's called the White Horse and all Marathon swimmers will go and sign my name and those my boat Pilots Strait of Gibraltar is between Spain and Africa swim was one that I was concerned about because clear but I was told that if a shark is spotted but I would be pulled from the water and I'd be disqualified from the swim as you can see the water was very rough it was not an easy swim for anyone at any age the Strait of Gibraltar is the second busiest shipping Lane in the world we had two boats my son's in the kayak sorry and the Zodiac but look how close we came to the Chakeres upper left-hand Corner looks like a shark but it never came closer to the finish line and there is at the finish I place a third fastest woman - 2883 now this is a New Zealand I did the swim in memory of Nancy Reardon he was a young boy that died in the restroom this one was very difficult because of the currents I was stuffing and Eddie for a few hours and because of that I missed the window of opportunity to reach the other Island to the finish line so I will be going back to coach training in 2019 and that will be my last swim in the ocean sevens but it's very closely monitored so he's playing two boats and you can see how conditions change very rapidly it was a time when I started and 9 hours into the swim one of my crew members and about apologize and you can wine this point I knew I wasn't going to make it to the Finish because it current was fortunately more towards the Pacific but I decided fight and defend go back and try it again the swim was just stopped shortly after this so you can see how wrong current Saab Marathon swimming be all different types of conditions is 21 miles out again they have servers I want to make sure that everyone follows the rules to my brother and sister-in-law water temperature I thought was pretty comfortable toy sand bottles I thought it was a shock but it was a dolphin came within 3 feet of me and I got a dolphin as score of a nearly 100 Dolphins fight to the Finish we can start to see how they're starting to come in at the very top but my crew said they were coming from the north south east and west all these Dolphins congregating they came right almost to within a hundred feet of the attendance line but to swim like right in the middle of this massive pot of dolphins was incredible I was initially I thought I was trying it for us cuz it was so big but I got the world's record for the oldest woman for so many Coney Island play piano after that I went to Japan I wanted to swim between the North and the South Island of Japan takes a lot of Yoko on the left is a good friend and I to sleep on the bottom of the boat for 3 hours cuz it was a three-hour boat ride to the star no sometimes Tom conditions to me these currents were incredible I was I felt like I was swimming in place for quite some time that's at the 10th hour school teacher cat icrew as you can see this land and it's daylight land is just a few miles away buddy Dan because of the strong currents I didn't finish that swim Jehovah he was 19 hours 33 minutes and I got the world record of the year for the oldest woman at the age of 61 thank you tell me what channel I did this last year but I tried my first year I went out and that's when I stop. cancel miles from the finished goods of Riptides I was bound and determined to go back and I went but it was high winds and I return home but this time last year I decided to another try is 21 miles between Ireland and saw on this is when is the hottest of the ocean sevens because of the lion's mane jellyfish change jellyfish new prolific balloons in the north Channel I got some every inch of my body the cold water was incredible but one of my grandchildren remember is that I did get a nap score for about 5 hours and it was from seabirds now you see 2 set a little while later few more join them they stayed right with me for 5 hours Saturday hour 5 hours later just right behind you the whole time I need to know the conditions for come when it's time for the jellyfish come to the surface and what you don't see is about 3 ft underneath. what's a jellyfish somewhere upside down and the tentacles are singing me there's one jellyfish there and a crew members yelling at me to go left because sales of blogs who sings jellyfish but you learn to swim right through them was it your big old zig zag whole time my crew member of frugal Summerville of Dublin Ireland put on a GoPro camera that is able to after I finish this was a world record for the oldest woman to swim in Channel at the age of 65 thank you. That I don't look exhausted I don't need to be carried out of the boat International Hall of Fame swimming contacted me after the swim and they were stunned that a grandmother could swing that distance okay this is Molokai Channel this is in the Hawaiian Islands where they had some of the biggest sharks in the world mandatory that I have 2 Shot shells and it's an electronic device that is put on a kayak and if a shark gets close he is harmless Electric Stetsons and turn around my crew had to swim out to the boat for the shot of the swim because it's on Molokai Island was it 26 miles curls for very strong during the slam we started 5 in the evening through the night first started to come out I got some several times and they were very painful stings because there's different types of jellyfish all through the world and the ones in Hawaii I can sing pretty harder pretty painful but this was a first for my crew who had to swim to the Bowl painting was about the same on feeding about every hour in the middle of the night I got bombed am I got bumped I didn't know what was going on I yelled that I got bumped Turn All the Lights On and scan the water to see if it was a shot and I wasn't a shot because my leg was still there it was a dolphin yes and I heard dolphins 10 minutes before the little clicking sounds so I knew that I was all right and plus with the shocks feel so I can send you this was a very difficult start because of currents were you keeping me in place I ended up swimming 26 miles in 23 hours and 54 minutes what was so surprising about is that I did have baby said sitter or several visitors my little grandchildren will remember this win because of the pilot whales that came off tooth Ma Panama City to coming to see me say, within a couple seats are on my page Talladega and they were harmless hello when are you finished in Oahu cousin conditions was very choppy slammed a couple of times five waves as I was trying to walk up the beach so I decided to crawl up the beach because Marathon swimming if the conditions are pretty bad at that finish line don't want to get slammed standing up you know it's it better to get slammed on your own hands and knees but you can see the finish line coming up the water was absolutely beautiful just about done and a 66 year old grandmother who just broke the world record for the oldest woman to swim Molokai Channel thank you can after this Slim I decided to go to Canada from Lake Ontario I ended up swimming 32 miles in 24 hours and 28 minutes and I got the world record for the oldest woman take it easy now tell me you saw these swimsuits do you think it was fake that a person stereotype to me because they I was too old to swim a marathon okay do you think it was fair that someone looked at me and said that I was too fat the swim a marathon hey those words were hurtful I didn't like it but again I Rose above it because in life all of us at one time or another will have someone say something very very hurtful to us that it's just unfortunate that the way that personable thing that they want to make someone feel sad and again in life there are some people that will never ever want to say something nice to someone at the age of 66 I feel strong and I feel as though I have not heat in my swimming for next year I have some major swims planned just got home from swimming pool and I'm sure all of you've heard about the mythical creature Nessy but anyway I'm going to open it up to some questions okay and are there any questions yes how old were you when you started breaking World Records okay my first world record was at the age of 61 how old I was my best friend swimming was at the age of 66 don't tell you in my early years how I got into swimming my younger brother at the age of 3 four died unexpectedly of a heart attack and then my son who is 16 said he want to swim the peace flowing as a tribute to his uncle Robbie and I said to Tom I said that's so sweet I wish I could do the same remember I was a spectator mall I wasn't doing any swimming and you looked at me you just want my you can if you try on and it was like well I guess I will be going to Davenport in Westbrook and I ask the wife got to keep wait on me because I wasn't sure if I could swim to one so full I was filled with a lot of self-doubt about my ability everyday I practice a little bit got a little bit stronger and it wasn't until my three days that I recognized that I was getting stronger but I listen to a lot of people do give me through it is when people classify someone in a group as all that's where the stereotyping is but I decided I enjoyed swimming I was going to go for it okay another question okay we're here yes fight through the pain how do I fight through the pain if someone okay if you happened to hate yourself or you fell and you hurt me you know it hurts you know it's going to get better just like with a jellyfish sting I knew that it hurt but it's going to get better so I just said to myself okay if I get on the boat and quit it's still going to hurt so I can take I made the decision to continue swimming but it was from experiences of snow falling and hurting even if I sit down still going to her so I would just continue to fight through the pain and the pain would Rizal okay question will be here yes I'm still waiting for some reason my aunt did not get tired not at all and I don't know why there's a possibility because I am not a fast swimmer now swimming the caliber of Michael Phelps who is incredibly talented and fast yes you get tired but if you go at a constable right you can go for hours just like for going for okay can you walk for 10 minutes can you walk for an hour you build up over time and all the sudden you know you can watch for several hours same thing with swimming I don't push it as you could see that I'm not a fast swimmer but in Marathon swimming that is it doesn't matter how fast you are you just go at your own pace okay any other questions okay young boy the hottest slim I would have to say the north channel the north Channel between Ireland and Scotland there was the tacos cuz of all the lion's mane jellyfish I got some I don't know maybe a thousand times reaction at all okay some people do and if that happens I have to get out of the water but me and I hit her and then in the past that I did sound again and hurt for a couple of minutes past so okay on the side yes as far as during a marathon swim 49 and that's pretty cold that time when I was swimming Lake Ontario they had to go pay colour-pop welling's with a water would come up from the depths and of the ice cold and it was 49 and average stains and smell the average which one was my favorite swamp I would have to say Catalina because they have an of 100 Dolphins right around me going into find wasn't something that was Unforgettable better picture I saw them underneath me I could hear them every so often. take a breath I could see their dorsal fin I wasn't aware that they were you know nearly $100 and still my crew said you know you would not believe the incredible amount of dolphin St Louis rounding you I didn't realize till after yes when wanted to swim the English Channel and I was swimming with the pigs to Port I have done it three times and I noticed that I was getting stronger but you really surprised me and I decided to swim across the bay go later which was twice the distance I finished that and I wasn't trying that's what I said to my house or doing two-way crossing a big Sebago and when I finished it took me 7 hours to turn into my huh and then I said I'm not tired I think I can go much further than this what company does want to try the English Channel so that's why I decided has anyone else like the doctor's I told you if it was going to like it affect you negatively in any way if any of the doctors has ever said and that my doctor I have been encouraging want something bad enough to go after and also to they know that I'm never going to put myself in jeopardy monitored they have fish finder and so it was shocked does come in and see it on the official anger on the boat and say you need to get out of the water and I gladly would question the lake or ocean Harris if I would choose a lake or an ocean very good question because I've been an ocean swimmer but there's a new competition out call the Civil War and it still smells of challenging swims in the world and all the Lakes ones and I've been practicing up to Sebago Lake State Park and I would love it I really do should I leave here if that's where I'm going to train I'm meeting my friend edokko the one that was in the jacket film she's meeting me up there were going to swim up there for a little bit but I really love for the light skins okay my favorite kind of swimming in the ocean so many it is just you know when you swim in Triangle water when you swim and turn down the waves and it's just a lot of fun the waves it's just it's a lot of fun it's all the condition will enjoy Janice if I ever got scared at Night My Molokai swim I didn't because I had his shots and all the sudden something right in the leg and it was big and I did he yell out and that's when the boulders you know the pain and they put the lights on they said it was dolphin and and I do believe it was a dolphin because not only do I hire a boat pilot but I also hire his crew and they usually have 3 to 4 and then I also have my crew and my crew is anywhere from two to three people sometimes for people so that it is safe yes cooking games free chance how often that I drink during my swims right now I'll swim for 2 hours then have a drink about cup and a half of fluid another hour have another cup and a half of fluid then another hour is every hour afterwards and number of marathon swimmers head adapted to my Silo drinking because he is a go we used to be 45 minutes and then every half hour but they recognize if you train your body to have your fluids that time you can okay the question in the bag what it is it's a package next is called carbopro and mix it with water sometimes I use powdered Gatorade liquid Carbonic the one I had for my Lake Ontario swim I was really getting sick of the of the Gatorade Travelpro Little Mix and hungry so I knew that who had peanut butter cookies on board because I bought it for them just as much energy from that I did it on those package you know, thanks so what did finding out now in Arizona swimming is to regular food you know you can either have chicken or you know some people actually Sandwich Mass because if if you're in in Harry with his lot of current so he can push you back okay okay yes okay she asked how do I go to Landrum well I remember the young kid my mom always said got a bathroom before you go that leaves the house and that's what I would do but if I had to urinate then you urinate like the fish because you keep lying on the bed disqualified Alyssa said that to this the stereotyping I used to see a lot of stereotyping one of the saddest things that I had witnessed I went to school in Westbrook and it was a parochial schools Catholic School store in what's the thomason's things to have the kids at that school with taunt the other kids and the kids at my school would make fun of them to when was it right it was not right but as I grew up I recognized that teasing someone because of their religion is not in that good because every religion will be stereotyped whether it's Christians Jewish Muslim Hindu every every religion people will have some comments and that's when they do the stereotyping my best friend is Japanese she's wonderful I've worked with people from all over the world and I've met people from all over the world some of my very best friends different cultures earn tourists at respect their beliefs but you need to respect you need to respect also to the color of the skin when will question here how often so how often do I train for swimming I train 6 days a week sometimes it's just an hour a day sometimes it's a few hours every day is different got a question fly out your family. okay to go to New Zealand I spent about $15,000 from my nursing career until about a year-and-a-half ago and I saved my money because I do not have corporate sponsors stereotypes major corporations look at young slender athletes you don't ever see someone in their sixties on the Wii Fox is it is cereal typing I have quite a few World Records but I have no corporate sponsors every stem is cell fondling I were high because in life if you want something bad enough you work for it if it's expensive college then you work you get a job pay for it cuz when I went to college I have a 42 degree in nursing I didn't get any solid shut I came from a family of eight children if I wanted to go to college I had to for it myself so that's what I did or I could have taken a sand and say well no one's going to help me so I'm not going to go now if you want something bad enough going on to college or working at a store or anything that your heart desires you going to work at it even if it means the failing at times certainly had my number of the failures and swimming I did not know what the person who said I was too old and the person who said I was overweight dictate how I do what I want to do I wanted this and I made it happen so in life as you get older you decide what you want to do and don't live if anyone is going to have any negative comments cuz I'll tell you you may get one when you not ever expecting it like what I did for you rise above it and I hope that you blow that is so important likes to reset people of all color of all faiths and to respect one another so get some time to hear all these bullies please believe the very sad and they want people to feel sad too so it'll pick on someone my brother Johnny he was the 17 year old died at Westford High School two weeks before he died he showed up to this to these two boys that were bullying a disabled young girl with a he went out to them because they were taunting her said he said to stop but it wasn't right I didn't find out about this until the day that he died when I had one of his friends come up to me and say do you know that your brother stop these two boys who were athletes well-liked in school very popular but they were making fun of a young girl who is disabled that was wrong my brother showed up for what was right and I'm very proud of him so as you get on to school you will see boys and it's up to you to see how you're going to react I hope you all will react and show respect to people and to stand up for someone Cole said he will not stereotype people because they come from another country or they have a different beliefs need to respect okay I think okay oh yes LPS okay as you all know I'm 66 if I wanted to be a swimsuit model for the next Edition Italy I so hot and they do are starting to break the stereotyping that you're seeing modeling where these young women and girls have to be toothpicks okay guess I need to look at that people Tom and all sizes that's what they want to pretty act in their swimsuit company so in January I'll be flying out to my location photo shoot so thank you okay she asked which magazine is not a magazine it's a swimsuit when suits for all and you can see their advertisements online and I wish you all well face no stereotyping thank you

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WMS - Open Water Swimmer Pat Gallant

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