What do you think of total immersion?

In 1964 I raced 44k in Egypt 11 laps of 4k, I found that after 4k I was sitting in the 1,2,3rd place with two Eyptian swimmers Shazly and Galil, so I settled in with them and decided I did not want to swim in first place or go to the front, strange things happen when you swim in Egypt. after 4 laps the guys in my boat told me Abou Heif and Zytoon had both gotten out. These were the two main competitors in the race. So I sat right there with the other two and was quite happy to just stay there. The water was very warm and very salty in Alexandria harbour. It was also very polluted the sewage from the city was dumped there but they said it was turned off for the day, but I did come accross a couple of brown lumps. This is where you can really think about your technique and watch the strokes of the other swimmers and plan a finish. I decided I would hold on until the last kilometer and sprint it out. With 1 lap to go as we passed the turning bouy and the startting dock Shazly and Galil swam to the dock and got out leaving me in first place and no one close. I was already counting the Rubles. When I arrived at the 2nd bouy it was huge, they used to tie up freighters to it. What a surprise the guy Zytoon who got out of the race early on was sitting behind the bouy and I ran into him. He started sprinting away as if he had just gotten in the water. I tried to stay with him but could not so I figured it happened and nothing I could do 2nd place prize money would not be too bad. I swam to the bouy and then the next then to the finish no one passed me Zytoon came 1st and I came 7th every one else in the race except Zytoon and I swam the four bouys all the rest only swam the last 3 bouys. At the party after the race I sat with Galil and Shazly and asked why they got out and they said they knew what was going on so they got out.

In 1964 I raced 44k in Egypt 11 laps of 4k, I found that after 4k I was sitting in the 1,2,3rd place with two Eyptian swimmers Shazly and Galil, so I settled in with them and decided I did not want to swim in first place or go to the front, strange things happen when you swim in Egypt. after 4 laps the guys in my boat told me Abou Heif and Zytoon had both gotten out. These were the two main competitors in the race. So I sat right there with the other two and was quite happy to just stay there. The water was very warm and very salty in Alexandria harbour. It was also very polluted the sewage from the city was dumped there but they said it was turned off for the day, but I did come accross a couple of brown lumps. This is where you can really think about your technique and watch the strokes of the other swimmers and plan a finish. I decided I would hold on until the last kilometer and sprint it out. With 1 lap to go as we passed the turning bouy and the startting dock Shazly and Galil swam to the dock and got out leaving me in first place and no one close. I was already counting the Rubles. When I arrived at the 2nd bouy it was huge, they used to tie up freighters to it. What a surprise the guy Zytoon who got out of the race early on was sitting behind the bouy and I ran into him. He started sprinting away as if he had just gotten in the water. I tried to stay with him but could not so I figured it happened and nothing I could do 2nd place prize money would not be too bad. I swam to the bouy and then the next then to the finish no one passed me Zytoon came 1st and I came 7th every one else in the race except Zytoon and I swam the four bouys all the rest only swam the last 3 bouys. At the party after the race I sat with Galil and Shazly and asked why they got out and they said they knew what was going on so they got out.