A vast indoor stadium with enough seats to hold 20000 people, hosts a 50 M swimming pool in its centre. The pool stands divided by the line of bright orange floats into five distinct lanes. The flooded stadium roared with encouragement every time the swimmers took their mark at the start lanes. I watch anxiously, as four well built physiques stand at the lanes, waiting, preparing for the event, 400m breaststroke. Though I emerged first among the last heat, any one from this current heat might snatch away my position… I got to give it my best.

The cold breeze of the early morning and the freezing water in ignored. The competitive spirit in the stadium is too strong. You can feel the energy and excitement even if u were blind and deaf. Even the pool remains restless with waves just like the competitors them self. The eyes of the coaches scan the surroundings, looking for their students and for a possible match who might beat them. Listing their names and the respective timings of the competitors are a part of their job there. Well about the swimmers like us, we have nothing in our mind except a prayer that we mustn’t get a cramp in the middle of the race. We prepare mentally and physically for the stress that we are going to impose on ourselves.

The other end of the stadium is quiet and filled with a set of calm swimmers, who sit near the commentators. Just praying, and not knowing if they would make it through the state level. I would soon be joining them after this race. Some who can’t take the suspense start to cry.

The stadiums loud noises and commotion suddenly pauses when the last and final call for the heat is given. It’s time for the race. It’s going to be 8 long laps say the mind. Then there is that familiar long whistle “on your mark” then the short one “get set”, then “GO!!” The crowd roars and becomes noisy again, a quick dive, and for us a brief moment of silence underwater. Once the head reaches the top, the war has begun. Each one has their own strategy, so it’s hard to tell who might win. Some conserve energy for the first 6 laps and use the remaining for the last two. Its more like nitrous to the cars. My strategy is like that. But the others get ahead quickly at first and slow down, and some who have enough stamina……well those guys never slow down. L. I hate them.

First two laps, it looks like all r in the same line. Every time we make to turn we try to get a quick glimpse of our positions. When it was the fifth lap, there were two guys ahead of me. Its time to give everything I have. I make the turn and yell underwater with pure anger “Get back here you morons”. For the last two laps, every single bit of energy is squeezed out, cramps in the leg appear and vanish quickly, nothings gonna stop us. Heart pounds too rapidly as I manage to catch up to those guys ahead of me. Surprisingly in the next turn everybody has caught up and there was a straight line of swimmers now!. Every time u turn to your side for a gasp of breath, your competitor is right there on either side…!!!!!! ANNOYING… Nobody is giving up…. The finishing is going to be too close. At last we strike the wall hard. It was a loud thud, I guess all of us hit together the almost the same time.

Well, technically no, the electronic score board tells the story. It looked something like…

6 : 56 : 08 --- First
6 : 56 : 09 --- Second
6 : 56 : 24 --- Third
6 : 56 : 50 --- Fourth

And I was the fourth… I am not sure if I should laugh or cry now. All my competitors were smiling… I have lost already. It’s a shame. I was so close. All disappointed I raise from the pool and I walk towards my parents. It’s time to go home for me. I walk wondering, doing something like shaving my head bald might have helped me win this whole game.
Sounds funny??
Actually that could have significantly helped. I don’t see anything now except the next month of harder gym workouts and the busy school schedule.