I witnessed a beautiful event today.

[TomInTib]

We have an annual event in our little town, The Tiburon Mile.

http://www.rcptiburonmile.com/

Basically, it is a one mile race from Angel Island to the dock at the Corinthian Yacht Club in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay.
Every type of swimmer from Olympic distance swimmers to triathletes to just plain folk who simply desire to prove something to themselves and the World at Large.
Swimmers and fans converge on Tiburon from all over the globe.
800 swimmers in all.
They set off from Angel Island at 9:15AM and the world class athletes quickly broke from the rest of the pack, who were strung out along the route according to ability.

There were two guys who were clearly superior swimmers who were in a photo finish after around 15 minutes.
Then came the rest, accompanied by a flotilla of safety vehicles (there was one rescue today).
After 45 minutes (the maximum time allowed) it was over - almost.

That's when a few of us with better vision realized that there were still two heads bobbing about in that cold, cold field, about 400 yards offshore.
And the head bringing up the rear was not stroking as near as we could tell, they were progressing at a snail's pace.

So we saunter over to the ramp at Corinthian to see just what was going to transpire.

The two finally came into view followed by a swarm of yachts with the people on deck applauding and cheering.

As they neared, it was obvious that the guy in front was a magnificent swimmer who was cajoling and cheering on Mr Last Place. This was a good 20 minutes after the last of the stragglers had made it to shore.

They came into the yacht basin and it was obvious that the lead swimmer was barely able to keep the last swimmer swimming free (which one must do in order to officially 'finish').
They came toward the ramp between the ropes and there was much speculation as to just what the guy's handicap was.
The general consensus was that the guy had no use of his legs as there were no swirls in his wake.

The escort could then be heard shouting almost child-like encouragement to the swimmer as the escort walked out of the water.

And then Mr Last place walked out of the water and onto shore.

A guy in his mid-20s with acute Downs Syndrome. He had basically dog-paddled the entire mile.

The Ultimate Winner.

There was not a dry eye on the pier.

Nor is there a dry eye in my house as I type this.

I will never forget this day.

[peacebird]

1. thanks for sharing.

:toast:

[acmejack]

2. Pretty damned cool.

Acts of unvarnished humanity such as this make it all worthwhile, Tom. Unfortunately, they seem to be all too rare and perhaps we are mostly too busy too take note of them.

[TomInTib]

11. I'll tell you one thing, acmejack...

I will be a long while before I complain about any of my various physical ailments.

The best part was when they got out of the water at the yacht club and then had to re-enter the water to swim to the dock at Sam's Anchor Cafe for lunch.

The escort told the kid that he had to get back in that water and the kid turned and gave him a look that I will long remember.

We were all laughing and crying at the same time.

[babylonsister]

3. Heartwarming! Thanks, Tom. nt

[TomInTib]

12. It was absolutely beautiful, 'sister.

I forgot my camera, but if I get any pics I will send them to you.

[PoiBoy]

4. Awesome..!

..absolutely awesome!!

:hi:

[unhappycamper]

5. Thank you for your story.

Not all is as it seems; I'm happy this young lad was recognized for his effort. :thumbsup:

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Guess they were both heroes, each in their own way.

[TomInTib]

9. This event is pretty much on a par with the New York or Boston Marathon

In the world of open-water racing, The Tiburon Mile is a world-recognized event.

For that guy to give up any chance of competing in the classic sense of competition was indeed heartwarming. And he swam the entire mile backwards, facing his swimmer.

I do not believe that I have ever witnesed anything more uplifting and inspiring.

FOX Sports filmed it.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. If you find out any more details on the participants, please post them.

[TomInTib]

13. That's a deal.

You can also check the site I linked to in the OP in a few days.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Thanks. Will do.

[madame defarge]

7. Very, very cool. I'm choked up...

We're really good friends of a family with a daughter who has acute Downs. I truly appreciate this story & will pass it on to them. I know they'll love it. Thank you.

[blue neen]

8. Beautiful story.

Just when you think you world has got you down, someone comes along and does something to restore your faith in humanity.

[Straight Shooter]

15. The indomitable human spirit.

It gives us hope.

Thanks for sharing.

[MuseRider]

16. It is always good to know

that there are still incredible people with more on their minds than self aggrandizing (not that all competition is about that). I am certain the strong swimmer was not aware that by doing this small, wonderful thing for another person he made himself a grand inspiration to a lot of others. This has made me smile rather than cry, what a wonderful example for all of us. Thank you for this story. It is one to remember and I am very glad you were there to witness it and relate it to us.

[NanceGreggs]

17. Not a dry eye over here either, Tom.

And I will never forget this story either.

Thanks for taking the time to share it with all of us here.

[TomInTib]

18. Thanks, NG. I shoulda let the blade warm a bit...

I was so blown away (and I am a pretty tough guy) by this thing that I just went right away and typed it up as soon as I walked up the hill.
Jeebness... was that an overly-long sentence or what?
Wish I could have lent a little more light and color - I was just too gassed to wait.

The whole thing was just beautiful. I didn't even get close to describing the event.
It is the New York Marathon of open-water racing. Serious business.
Gazillion-dollar yachts, multi-gazillion-dollar people all the way down to your poor scribe.
Everybody is into it and equal when the steel hits the wheel.
Ain't common denominators special?
We just need to find more of them.

Thank you, ma'am,
Tom

on edit: You know what I am talking about a cold blade. You know, when you write something down while it is still hurting you real bad versus taking your time to think about it a little bit.
T

[NanceGreggs]

19. I know exactly what you mean.

But I think the fact that you were still in-the-moment when you wrote it is what made is that more real, that more accessible to each reader.

It is a truly wonderful story, and not diminished an iota by the style of the telling.

Do you publish? Might I suggest 'putting the cold knife' to it after a bit, and having it published in local papers, magazines, etc.? It's certainly a tale worth sharing - especially these days.

"... when you write something down while it is still hurting you real bad ..."

Thing is, this one hurts real GOOD, doens't it?

[TomInTib]

20. I don't know, NG...

I don't publish and I rarely copywrite.

Everything has already been written, we just rearrange it, don't we?

Keep your antennae up and polished and your lamp trimmed and burning.

Remember this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2122904

Tom

[NanceGreggs]

21. Yes, I remember ...

... I often trawl the DU waters late at night, looking to find another one of those Tom-&-Tom duet posts - hoping I can find an appropriate spot to jump in and riff a little.

[TomInTib]

22. Here's one for ya', NG..

This is for a friend of mine...

Bad JuJu...

Death Row..

Things don't always work out like our parents dreamed.


Now I shoot the Darkness down
I puncture what is swollen
And sometime I'll tear it down
Just to keep it rolling
But pictures some years gone by
and someone who can't do that
Then step back and tell me how
You get somebody thru that

When they know that soon the axe will fall
Judge not somebody hopeless
Or anyone who can't quite focus
Kill what you can that is not pure
And take the black angel cure.

Actually, there was a whole lot of drivel in front of that thing, but I am much too slow on the keyboard.

T

[TomInTib]

23. And here's something else..

You just keep writing. You keep my hopes up high... on a daily basis.

I read your essays and forward them to people who you would not believe are reading your stuff.

And I am completely serious.

Keep singing.

Loud.

Tom