From swimming in Canadian lakes to traveling to the Mexican Caribbean, LYNX swimmer Carmen shares her experience below:

“What started in 2015 as a life project swimming in Calgary’s chilly lakes and after dipping into the sea in Vancouver in 2021, this year I took the plunge—literally—and raced my first overseas sprint Oceanman in the Caribbean!

On August 2nd, under the sunny skies of Cozumel’s Kuza Beach, I swam through the crystal-clear waters of the Palancar Reef. It felt like diving into the world of Finding Nemo, a natural aquarium full of color, calm, and joy.

Surprisingly, despite the 6 month anticipation, I felt less anxious than usual. The waves whispered encouragement and calm, and the excitement of swimming in paradise gave me courage and determination. When the race began, I found my rhythm within seconds, I passed other swimmers with confidence and realized that open water swimming is like life—seems like we are alone on our own path, but we are always surrounded by amazing people and nature in our course to reach a goal.

The Caribbean water was so clear, I could navigate by lining up reef rocks with the buoys—it’s true, no need to look up as often! It really was about enjoying the swim.

This was by far my most joyful, peaceful, and empowering swim yet. I cannot thank Mary enough for all the training, and to my fellow LYNX swimmers—you are an inspiration to me!

I now have a deep new love for open water challenges in the sea and am craving more swims in the ocean. The next one? Half Oceanman 2026, here I come!”

Thank you Carmen for sharing your first, but not last, Oceanman experience! Looking forward to seeing what’s on your race calendar next season.  ~Coach Mary