Are you tempted by swimming with a monofin or bifin but you don’t dare take the plunge because you think you don’t swim well enough or because you imagine you’re past your age? Lorraine Cazaty is the perfect example to help you take the plunge without complexes. “I started swimming at 30, between pregnancies, and I didn’t swim crawl at all. I was swimming the tourist breaststroke! », laughs the 39-year-old Vannetaise today. It was when she saw an advertisement for the Neptune club Vannes in a free magazine that she wanted to try. “I even watched tutorials on how to swim front crawl! » The encouragement from the coaches and other swimmers at the club only reinforced her approach and her progress. Until quickly participating in a first national competition. “People are putting the brakes on competition even though it’s open to everyone. I was the first to think I wasn’t capable of it,” assures Lorraine Cazaty, delighted today to have overcome her preconceived ideas.
Starting from scratch
When activities were able to resume at the club after the health crisis, there was nothing left but leisure. Enough to discourage Dominique Pruvost, a fan of competitive fin swimming for years and who ended up getting fed up with adding up the lengths without a goal. So he and Lorraine Cazaty took the bull by the horns to get the club back on track for competition. “We started from scratch for two years. I had only done one competition and I knew nothing about logistics. Dominique followed me, he was an important pillar for me,” confides Lorraine.
Beautiful sensations
If pleasure comes first, results also help you move forward. Gabin Rébillard, 13, is one of ten swimmers who have been or have been back in competition for the past two years. In mid-June, he was able to gauge his great progress during his first selection for a national competition, which notably earned him a bronze medal in the 50m monofin. As for Dominique Pruvost, he has collected medals at the French masters championship, in over 65 years, with three silver and one gold. Lorraine Cazaty was also there and after finishing fourth four times in 2023, she managed to finish third three times. “We would like it to make others want to do it. It is a discipline that offers great sensations of gliding and speed,” says the Vannetaise. “There is also the notion of sharing, surpassing oneself and the conviviality between swimmers from the club and other clubs,” adds Dominique Pruvost.
