Swimmer Spotlight: Ion Lazarenco on what you need to succeed in open water swimming

Ion Lazarenco found out why he swam. And that made every obstacle he faced a simple question of how to face it.

A bit of background on Ion Lazarenco. Inspired by Nejib Belhedi and his 1,400km swim along the coast of Tunisia in support of peace, Ion decided to do the same for his homeland Moldova. In 2013 he swam 235km along the river Nistru to promote peace in the region

He later embarked on a journey to complete the Oceans 7 (solo crossings of seven channels around the world) to raise funds for the dilapidated football field in his hometown in Moldova. In 2018 he completed the Oceans 7 challenge and became the eighth person in history to do so.

When asked about what motivated Lazarenco through the challenges of swimming the channels, he replied that it was more than about peace in the political sense.

“We have peace in our souls, we have love, we have understanding, we have so many things. There is more to it than swimming for peace and politics. And when things got hard, I didn’t give up because of the life I had when I grew up. If I give up, what will the children do? What kind of example do I give? So, look, if I can do it, then you can do it. If you have a wish, then you should be able to do it.”

Lazarenco wanted to spread a message of peace. He chose to swim because water, according to Lazarenco, is our continuity. It connects the planet and the people, and it connects the people with each other. He chose the hardest swim around because he hoped that people who hear what he would have to say.

But before he began his challenge, Lazarenco didn’t know how to swim longer distances. He learned by doing and by watching Youtube videos on technique. But that’s not all.

Lazarenco quite early on figured out that swimming in the pool is very different from swimming in open in the sea. Knowing that all of his swims were going to be in open water, he decided to spend at least 70% of his training in the open water.

He credits part of his success to the fact that he went out to train in the worst and the craziest weather conditions possible. When other people said that he was crazy for going out he replied that one should train for the worst and pray for the easiest conditions. 

Training is one part of the swim, but doing the Oceans 7 comes with an extra obstacle: the budget. It requires a lot of travelling through various countries and it is a quite big investment. When Lazarenco started out with his first swim, he didn’t have sponsors or backers.

To make ends meet, Lazarenco tried to cut all costs possible. For example, he went to Japan, brought his own tent and slept on a camping ground or out in the fields. For foods, he brought a lot of fresh products with him, honey, nuts and vegetables. He even went as far as to book a flight a day before his swim, that way he would stay as little as possible in other countries and save money.

The other thing Lazarenco relied on, quite in line with his philosophy of the kindness of the soul and the goodness of humankind, was help.

‘When you don’t knock on the door, nobody will open. The open water swimming community is so kind and willing to give. Maybe not everyone will want to help you, but there will be someone to help you.’ 

One of the most curious things about Lazarenco’s achievement is that he didn’t have a strategy or a plan. And he is very adamant about this. “I listen to my body, to how I feel on a given day. I feel that I want to do a big swim, I go out and do it. 10km, 15km. It doesn’t matter.”

What he did do was to build upon each swim. A little further, a little longer each time. Till a few weeks before the swim. ‘So that my body would be hungry for swimming, wouldn’t be able to wait to get into the water.’

On dealing with rough weather, which according to Lazarenco he had on almost all of his swims, his best advice can be summed as knowing why you are there, knowing what you’re.

‘When you’re in the water, and you’re already out there, it’s your best chance, the best shot you’re going to have. So, go for it.’

And in his case, he had a personal motivator:

“You can’t achieve peace easy, so just shut up and keep going.”

After completing Oceans 7, Lazarenco has settled down for a bit. But he already has plans for the future. Next year he wants to do the Iron Man challenge. Currently, he is looking for a bike to complete to be able to participate in the challenge. And he jokes ‘If I won’t find one, I will just make one myself.’ 

You can hear the complete interview with Ion Lazarenco in our webinar series. Do you have an open water swimmer you want to see in the spotlight? Let us know, and we will do a write up on him or her.