Transcriber: Stavroula Aktypi Reviewer: Mirjana Čutura
What is the true meaning of average?
Let me tell you my story.
In 2010, I had some back problems, and I went to see a physician.
The physician told me, "Swimming is good for your back."
So, what did I do?
I started swimming.
And I was, and I'm still ...
an average swimmer.
Can you raise a hand, how many of you can swim a lap in the pool?
So, why?
Because I swim three kilometers per hour,
and this is an average speed.
But even though I was an average swimmer,
in 2015, I had a dream.
I had the dream of swimming the English Channel:
the strip of water which goes from England to France,
and its shortest part is 33 kilometers,
and it's known for its cold water and strong currents.
And last summer,
after two failed attempts,
I was lucky, and I managed to swim across it.
(Applause)
Thanks.
(Applause)
Let me describe what happened that day.
I went at 11 o'clock at night to the harbor.
Departure time was midnight.
I met my crew in the harbor:
the crew from my support boat.
It was cold, it was dark,
and I knew that was going to be my third and last attempt.
I knew it's either now or never.
I jumped into the water without wearing a wet suit -
just a swimming cap, the goggles and the costume
because that's how the tradition wants us to do the swim.
If you wear a wet suit, it doesn't count.
During the night, I started having cramps,
and after five hours, I was thinking about giving up.
This is a picture of me
when I saw the sun rise, and I started feeling better.
But it was not over -
I still had to swim across blooms of jellyfish,
against the currents
and who knows how many hours left to finish.
After 13 hours,
I was one mile away from France,
but the waves started pulling me back into the Channel.
I spent four hours to swim to finish.
I spent four hours swimming in front of the same rock.
And after 17 hours,
eventually, I managed to arrive to France.
And I was lucky, because not many people -
less than 2,000 people - managed to do the swim
in the last 150 years.
And that's not many
if you compare with the number of people who finished an Ironman only last year:
50,000 people.
Or if you compare with the people who finished a marathon last year
only in the US:
500,000 people.
So I realized
under perfect conditions, in the swimming pool,
I was an average swimmer.
But under extreme conditions,
although doing the same thing,
swimming,
I achieved the extraordinary.
So, how is it possible
that an average swimmer can manage to swim the English Channel?
Let's think about the difference
between the swimming pool and the open water.
In my opinion, it's the same difference as between theory and practice.
Swimming in the pool is the theory.
I can focus on my technique,
I have no distraction,
I can swim straight,
the water is comfortable,
and visibility is great.
Practice is like the English Channel.
You never go straight
because of the waves, because of the wind
because of the current.
The water is cold, and everything can happen,
like meeting the jellyfish
or swimming at night with no visibility.
So, pool and open water are two totally different games.
So, how did I manage to swim across the English Channel?
Well, I was persistent,
I had a training plan,
and I was surrounded by people sharing the same passion.
But that's not the real question.
The real question is,
How is it possible that an average-skilled person
manages to belong to the 99.99th quantile?
And in my opinion, with my story,
we can excel when doing something under a challenging environment.
So, for example, I can be extraordinary
doing the same job but in another country.
I can be extraordinary doing the same job but in another company.
So, this is a message that I want to share with you tonight.
It's a misconception that we have in real life
that to excel one needs to be the best, without flaws.
So, what's the true meaning of average?
For me, being average was enough,
and under extreme conditions, it was extraordinary.
Thank you.
(Applause)