"It so happened that now I live and train in Chile. But, despite this, I wanted to show that I am with Russia, that I support our military, performing combat missions on the territory of Ukraine," the paratrooper veteran told media.
'Crazy Russian'
"I could no longer think about anything. I was thinking during the race. I just had to distribute my strength. I often swim in 'big waves' here when there are storms and bad weather. They call me 'crazy Russian' here for that, because no one swims like that except me. So even if I'm training or competing during a storm, it's not that hard for me. Somewhere in the middle of the race, a big wave came in. I saw it started to carry the rivals to the shore, and here I managed to overcome it, and after a kilometer, I surpassed all of them. Of course, there were obstacles. It was difficult. An unfamiliar route, then this wave of three meters, there were no landmarks - I lost a lot of time trying to orientate myself in space. I could not even see where to swim because of the wave, that is, you had to stick your head out, catch your breath, and everything else. There were many jellyfish, too. That's why there were a lot of difficulties."
'Set Goal & Achieve It, No Matter What'
"When I got back into the big sports again... I was looking for opportunities to fulfill my goals and ideas... and I came to Moscow, to the Moscow suburbs. I lived there, I trained there and was looking for opportunities. And then I received an invitation from Chile to train there. Of course, there are a lot of advantages in Chile. And the first is, of course, the ocean. There are swimming pools: they give me the opportunity to train there. And if you are an athlete with disabilities, they treat you with care and create conditions. When I came here, I said: 'I can win, participate in competitions, and even break Guinness Records.' Now I'm getting a residence permit and I will compete as a Russian and as a Chilean."
"Both the English Channel and Antarctica, you name it! I currently plan to do Santa Catarina [River] and La Plata [River], and many other things. I mean, I could do it, but I didn't have the funding. Now I don't know, I hope the Chileans will help me do it. I have physical and psychological ability to do it. I am ready now. Now we are waiting to see how it happens. I need literally three or four months to prepare. That is, in principle, I am ready," Vitaliy said.