Olympian Marcos Lavado Joins Odyssey for Alcatraz Swim 6/24/2023

Feeling a tremendous amount of pressure and anticipation when taking on an Alcatraz swim is natural. However, Marcos Lavado, who joined Odyssey for our 6/24 Alcatraz swim, is no stranger to high-pressure situations.

As a member of the 2012 Venezuelan Olympic team, Marcos competed in the men’s 200M butterfly and the 4 x 100M relay. A year earlier, Marcos won a bronze medal as a member of the 4 x 200M freestyle relay team at the Pan American Games.

To learn more about Marcos and what brought him to swim with Odyssey for our 6/24 Odyssey Alcatraz swim, we interviewed him.

Question: What brought you into swimming and what do you love most about it?

Marcos Lavado: My parents decided to take me to swim since I had a lot of energy when I was a kid. I love swimming because it’s an excellent sport for your health and you get to meet a lot of people that will become part of your family. Also, swimming was like decompression for me in the sense that it helped me release some stress in my lifestyle.

Q: What has been the most rewarding swim of your life and why?

ML: The most rewarding swim of my life, I would say I have two scenarios. The first one would be the Olympics games in London 2012. I felt blessed to be competing between the greatest athletes in the world and the second one would be when I broke a national record in 200mts butterfly in Barbados in 2017. The record was held for 33 years (the longest standing record in South America) by the only Venezuelan Olympic medalist in swimming, Rafael Vidal.

Q: Do you like swimming in the pool or open better, and why?

ML: I prefer swimming in the pool but I also enjoy open water. They’re very different in terms of training, strategy, recovery and stroke technique. I love being in the ocean.

Q: Why did you choose to swim from Alcatraz with Odyssey?

ML: I have always wanted to swim this event but never had the time because of my job or other circumstances, and a good friend of mine signed up and told me about it and we decided to finally swim from Alcatraz.

Q: How would you describe the experience?

ML: Amazing, very well organized, a lot of safety boats and kayakers to guide you to the finish and help you with anything during and after the swim.

Q: Would you recommend others swim from Alcatraz, and why or Why not?

ML: 100% recommended, very friendly staff and an amazing experience you can tell your family and friends about.

Q: What’s your next goal you’re looking forward to accomplishing?

ML: I’m trying to race more in the swimming pool this year, but also a couple other open water swims. Stay healthy, get more swim practices a week and most importantly, have fun, which I think sometimes people tend to forget that and put a lot of pressure on themselves.

Thank you to Odyssey Open Water Swim for keeping doing these events and encouraging athletes to have fun swimming in the safe environment they provide. These events are always attractive to a lot of swimmers around the world and we appreciate the time you take to make this happen.