Patrick Ekwall says he never learned to swim as a child.
Photo: TV4 / TV4
Together with his teammates on the red team, Filip Dikmen and Kaeli Abdi, Patrick Ekwall must gather clues to crack the password to Fort Boyard’s treasure.
And for Ekwall it becomes a panicky experience – which ends with him having to be rescued by divers.
Patrick Ekwall and Filip Dikmen will balance on a seesaw high above the water.
– It was really emotionally difficult because I never learned to swim when I was little because I had been part of something, quite simply, that caused me to panic when I had my head under water, explains Ekwall in the program before the competition.
– I can barely even put my head under the water in the bathtub at home, he continues.
The article in brief:
In “The prisoners at the fort”, Patrick Ekwall and Filip Dikmen have to balance on a seesaw above the water – which turns out to be extra difficult for Ekwall.
Patrick Ekwall tells the program that he has a huge fear of water because of something that happened when he was a child.
When Ekwall falls into the water, he panics and is rescued by divers.
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Ekwall and Dikmen climb up using rope ladders attached to the middle of the board and then slowly shuffle out in each direction to read the clues attached to the far end. If they are unbalanced, the board will tip and the participants will fall into the water.
And that is exactly what is happening.
Patrick Ekwall: “I will not survive”
The seesaw starts tipping in Patrick Ekwall’s direction and he screams in panic.
– No! No! No!, he shouts so that his voice breaks.
Ekwall, wearing the red team shirt with a life jacket on top, ends up in the water and panics. He is met by two divers, but the panic does not go away.
– As soon as I got under the water, I panicked, he says in the program.
– They have you Patrick! Patrick, relax. They have you! Feel safe, shouts the presenter Gunde Svan.
Ekwall puts his arms around the two divers holding him above the surface.
– I can not breathe. I can not see. I will not survive, he says in the program.
The red team failed the challenge, but Patrick Ekwall is glad that he dared to complete the missions despite the fear of water.
Said yes despite the fear
On Instagram writes Patrick Ekwall that he only said yes when the production assured him that there would be divers in the water below.
“But I never understood how panicked I would become in a few seconds,” he writes.
Furthermore, Ekwall writes that the program gave him insight:
“Challenging oneself and one’s fears I have done several times before, but this only scared me to death. And I realized maybe I should try to do something about it or is it too late to learn to swim?”
Patrick Ekwall and Filip Dikmen fall off the seesaw and end up in the water.
Photo: TV4 / TV4
Patrick Ekwall is gripped by panic.
Photo: TV4 / TV4
He is helped by two divers in the water.
Photo: TV4 / TV4
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