Blog guest: Caba Siladji

Caba Siladji, European Championship in Istanbul and Mediterranean Games in Italy and Turkey as well as University Games in China and Serbia medallist, junior European champion and junior World Championship silver medallist in 50m and 100m breaststroke, member of the Serbian Olympic Team in 2012 and 2016 is speaking as a Blog guest for Swimming Dad about how water makes him feel safe and confident.

Do you feel more safe in the water or outside?

I have spent exactly 20 years, 300 days a year, sometimes even 5 hours a day, in the water and that definitely builds up my confidence. I would even say that in certain situations “on the land” (for example when I have a ball in my hands), I feel less confident than when I am in the water.

Have you ever felt unsafe in the water? And if you have, when was that?

Of course, I felt unsafe at the beginning, when I started to swim. I was definitely the worst one in my group. I used to sink even when holding a swimming board, and I also cried a lot. But I never gave up. Over time, I became more and more self-confident.

Are people who are good swimmers always safe in the water?

I believe that we, professional swimmers, are 100% safe in the water. However, sometimes when we are not able to see the bottom of the sea for example, we could be exposed to certain risks. I like rivers and I often swim in them, but I don’t like the sea that much. Because of the salty water but especially because of different creatures swimming in it.