In Deep Waters: Sunken Dreams Amidst a Pandemic

Sunday, 9 May 2021

By Samira Banat

It was February 2020. Any hint of winter in the heat-stricken country began receding back into the depths of the desert plains. Hamilton Aquatics, the leading swim club in the Middle East was riding the high their victory at the Middle East Open & Junior Championships delivered that month. However, this was no reason to let loose and celebrate. There were still six, whole months left of the competition season.

As the month of March was approaching, preparation for the upcoming meets and trips across oceans ensued. "I was super confident that my new training programme was going to enable me to get to UK nationals for the summer of 2020," shared 16-year-old Theodore Armes, British and French resident of Dubai. Having only joined Hamilton Aquatics in September 2019, Armes was still navigating the transition which with the new restrictions, he found increasingly frustrating.

However, in March, the opportunities to train became rarer. Pools were being shut down one by one, and so the swimmers were forced to carry their swim gear into the intimidating architecture of Dubai’s Hamdan Sports Complex, a name they would only hear in a sentence that contained major competition announcements. Soon, even the grandeur of the sports arena had no chance against the now, merciless virus. Hamilton Aquatics moved their swimmers to hotel pools, then gyms, and then behind locked doors. The swimmers were now in deep water - the wrong kind. Similarly, the Performance Youth squad’s coach, Alex Gray and Head Coach Stuart Sant were left in disbelief. “I don’t think any of us really anticipated that everything was going to stop”, shared Gray.

Despite the swimmers now locked in their homes, the club’s coaches continued working towards creating an adaptable programme for the foreseeable future. A significant part of the brainstorming involved speaking to coaches from around the world, including former American competitive swimmer and most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps’ coach, Robert Bowman.

For 15-year-old Sophia Dumont, a Swiss member of Hamilton Aquatics, the COVID-imposed restrictions were bearing down in more ways than just being limited to the confines of her home. At the start, cutting down her training from 23 hours to a mere 18 hours a week came as the ultimate shock. Dumont had no notion of the severity of the upcoming circumstances. Once the pools and gyms had closed their doors on Hamilton Aquatics, Dumont swapped up to four hours of daily laps in 25-metre or 50-metre pools for the neighbour's 10-metre pool with a bungee (resistance band), and then just three land-cardio sessions every week.

Back at Theodore Armes's house, he made up for the lack of professional training by running circuit training with the new gym equipment his parents bought for the garage. For Armes, what was now being deemed the 'new normal' meant no more seeing friends, and so the advice he would give to those still struggling borders on maintaining close connections with the people present in your pre-COVID life: "I would say keep connected with your friends and teammates. Talk to them about how you're feeling and don't feel like you are the only one going through this uncertainty. Keep engaged and don't forget you have a gift."

For Dumont, a reminder to stop comparing yourself to those around you, despite many drifting along the river in a boat that resembles much of your own: "Understand that every person has their own journey and their own path to success. We won't all be going at the same rate and achieving things all at the same time. It might take longer for some people than for others."

In October 2020. Hamilton Aquatics resumed daily training and has since, slowly introduced standard methods of training. The 16th and 17th of that month welcomed back not only the cooler breeze from the surrounding seawater but the first competition since February. The athletes’ anticipated return to the sport was accompanied by increased levels of support by their coaches, due to their newfound understanding of the importance of breaks and conditioning exercises. On how he encourages resilience in his swimmers, Gray explains: “I think one of the things about elite-level athletes and coaches is that we adapt pretty quickly because we have to.”

With the improving circumstances, Dumont is making the most of the available training, keeping her mental state at a level fit for success, and instead of simply setting a goal time (to complete a swim), she is channelling her productive gene and planning the abundantly step-filled process behind each race, in pursuit of her long-term goal – to participate in the 2024 Olympics.

Similarly, Theodore Armes recognises the complexity of the now, modified road to success, but remains hopeful: "I do still believe that I can achieve my dreams and I don't feel that they are further away than they were a year ago. The path to a dream isn't always a straight line."