Lorena Costa will swim around the island of Manhattan

After completing the Olaya three times, the 22 kilometers between Chorrillos and La Punta, Lorena Costa Bedoya, 38, is preparing to become the first Peruvian woman to circumnavigate the island of Manhattan. She will accomplish her new feat on July 23.

This time it is not about a race but a personal challenge. Lorena will swim 48 kilometers accompanied only by a kayak for safety. Her goal is to complete the Triple Crown, which includes crossing the English Channel between France and England and swimming from Catalina Island to Los Angeles. At the moment, there are only two Peruvians who have achieved it: Gustavo Lores and Eduardo Collazos.

Lorena trains “every morning from 5 to 8.” She then goes to work at a mining company. She completes her training in the water with strength exercises in a gym. For her that is “basic, basic, basic”, because the sport, being a repetitive movement, requires a good muscle combination to last so many hours in the water.

In the case of returning to Manhattan or any of these crossings, time is relative because it depends on the currents and weather conditions of the day. Preparation is integral because it is not only physical but mental.

Much of his training is done in the pool, but he combines it by going out with friends to do “fun and challenging routes in the sea of ​​the Costa Verde.” Mentally, he assures that it helps him to be aware that “I am going to finish because I have prepared and trained.” Of course, two weeks before completing any of the challenges he has to be in high spirits. Any problem that arises is ruled out until later. “Nothing can deter me from meeting the challenge I have set for myself. The only thing I think is: “I do this because I want to, no one forces me, I like it and I can because that’s what I train for.”