At the age of 18, I rediscovered a book that had fascinated me as a child, and laid the foundation for my career as an open water swimmer: It was about an impressive athlete who had swum the English Channel as well as other open waters of the world. I realised that I wanted to do that too and focused my training on that goal from that moment on. Shortly after the change in training, I dared to make my first attempt in open water.