At the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics swim competition last month, I told the timer at my lane that my arms might flail around when I got up on the starting block because I have Parkinson’s, but not to worry. I’ve swum in other races and had no problems.
However, as you’ll see in the first video, I did have a problem. I lost my balance and dove (quite nicely, actually) before the starting gun.
Consequently, the event manager insisted that to make sure I didn’t fall off sideways and crack my head open, I needed to keep my hand on someone’s shoulder until the race began. For every race I was in that week.
This was a setback for me. As you’ll see in the next video, where I’m swimming 50 meters freestyle, my dive was late and my time was slow.
This means I have to work more on my balance, and practice using the starting blocks at my town pool when I have a lane to myself.
Stay tuned.
