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| Pat Gallant-Charette |
Last month, she spoke to students at Windham Middle School
about being stereo-typed for being “too old” to do some of the things she’s
done. She proved you are never too old to go after the things you want.
A Westbrook
resident, Pat Gallant-Charette did not aim to become a marathon
swimmer, or even a swimmer, until later in life.
“[People] ask how I got into swimming, and it’s really kind
of a remarkable story,” Gallant-Charette began. “I was a good swimmer as a
teenager, got married at 21 and started having children. Then I got my BA in
nursing and worked as a nurse.”
It was after tragedy that the idea of swimming came about.
“My youngest brother, Robbie, at the age of 34, died
suddenly…of a heart attack,” Gallant-Charette continued. “At the time, I was 46
and was absolutely devastated. He was such a remarkable young man. Robbie loved
swimming; he was the captain of the Northeastern University Swim Team and won Peaks
to Portland twice.”
At the time, her 16-year-old son was on the Westbrook High
School swim team and she considered herself a spectator mom while she cheered
on her son at swim meets. He decided to swim the Peaks to Portland as a tribute
to his uncle and she wished she could do the same. “You can if you try,” her
son said to her.
Her son’s remark
inspired Gallant-Charrette, but it took effort and courage to reach
that goal. “You get filled with a lot of self-doubt about your swimming
ability,” Gallant-Charette said. “I didn’t like swimming in the ocean. I spooked
easily. I’m only going to do [this] one time, and that’s it. I trained, it took
me over a year before I even qualified.”
Then she qualified for the Peaks to Portland, she recalls
the day in detail: “I remember
standing on the island, here I was 47, and filled with self-doubt, I’m looking at
all these young, slender athletes and I’m thinking, ‘Pat, what the heck did you
get yourself into?’ Then I said to myself, ‘I don’t care if I come in last.
You’re here as a tribute to Robbie. Just finish the swim because it’s the last
time you ever have to swim in the ocean again.’”
Something happened on that first swim in the Atlantic.
“As I was swimming across Casco Bay, something special
happened that morning. I saw the beauty of Fort Gorges… a lobster boat went by
and the seagulls up above, and it was just incredible. It was beautiful! Any
fear [of open water] was gone, and all those young fast swimmers were probably
at the finish line, so I didn’t have to worry about [competing against them].
And when I finished, my brother, Robbie’s widow and her now 4-year-old son
greeted me at the finish line. I said to my husband, ‘I really enjoyed this,
I’m going to do it again.’”
She continued on with the Peaks to Portland swim on an
annual basis and by the time she reached the age of 52, Gallant-Charette noticed
that her endurance improved significantly. “I was stunned,” Gallant Charette
stated. “I didn’t think I could improve at the age of 52.”
Gallant-Charette decided to swim Sebago Lake which is twice
the distance of Peaks to Portland. When she finished, she wasn’t tired. After
another year of training and swimming across Big Sebago and back, she told her husband,
“I think I’m one of those endurance athletes.” Her husband suggested she swim
the English Channel. Gallant-Charette
thought that was a great idea.
She did swim the English Channel but it took a lot of self-coaching
and training. In August 2001, she jumped in and swam the channel.
Gallant-Charette shares a moment from that swim. “It was about the 16th hour of
the English Channel and I could see France, and I said to myself ‘I don’t care
how cold this water is, I’m going to make that finish line! And I did. Once I
saw France, it was like, the worst is behind you, what’s another 2 miles?’”
For the fourth time since she turned 60, Pat has been selected
as one of the nominees for the Women’s World Open Water Swimmer of the Year.
She is among 12 nominees worldwide. Says Gallant-Charrette, “To be among these
talented women I feel very humbled and honored.”
For the time being, it seems Gallant-Charette is enjoying
the ride - or the swim rather. She doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. “I
really love the sport of open water swimming. My pet peeve is when people say,
‘when are you retiring?’ I have no intention of retiring from this sport. My
intent is to bring this as far as I can.”
