T'JAY FARRO: TAKING A SWIM CHALLENGE
Updated: Sep 14, 2021
Last Saturday, the seventh edition of the "Groningen Swim Challenge" took place in the canals of the student city, Groningen. While the main goal of this event is to raise funds for the University Medical Center Groningen’s (UMCG) cancer research, swimmers take a physical challenge while supporting a great cause.
After moving last year to the student city of Groningen, T’Jay Farro (26), an Aruban student at ‘Rijks’ University of Groningen currently following his pre-masters in Finance, did not hesitate to participate in this year’s event. About three months ago, a friend of his told him about this event and that it looked like something that T’Jay could accomplish. He shares, “I immediately started training for it to make sure I am fit enough to handle the cold Dutch water by the time of the event.”
T’Jay recalls how the nerves really kicked in on the day of the event; luckily, he was surrounded by good friends who gave him words of encouragement. Just right before the event started, he took time to sit next to the water, meditate, and get in the zone. While already in the water, his focus was to make sure the swimming goes as smoothly as possible. “Those words of encouragement most definitely helped me to stay focused during the swim.” But, as he recalls that this was not a race, he could not back down from his game face, which he kept the whole lap.
How did you prepare yourself for the City Swim?
“This was an individual swim, but during my training, I had a very dear friend that was swimming with me on a daily basis. This friend also contributed very much on the days that I did not feel like training. But, last month, I started swimming more and more in the canals to have a better idea of how the real swim would be.”
Is there a personal reason why you want to support this cause?
“I dedicated this swim to my grandfather that I lost in 2016 due to cancer. Also, swimming was always a passion of mine, so this was the perfect reason to take part in the challenge while contributing to a good cause!”
What would be one of the highlights of this event?
“During the swim, one of the things that I was looking the most forward to was passing in front of the house with all the supporters. I could’ve never imagined the amount of energy and happiness they gave me when I was passing in front of that house. It also helped me with that extra push at the end when I was a bit tired already.”
This was the first time that T’Jay participated in such an event, and he should be very proud to have raised €850- for a cause that is very close to his heart. If you are interested in applauding T’Jay for this accomplishment and donating to a terrific cause, you can do this right here. T’Jay concludes, “if you ever get the chance to give back, especially to cause that is close to you for one reason or another, you should!”
The Groningen swim challenge has raised over €220.500,00 this year alone; if you want to learn more about this event and the cause, you can check their website: www.groningenswimchallenge.nl
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Phryme.