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What is the true meaning of average?

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Let me tell you my story.

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In 2010, I had some back problems,
and I went to see a physician.

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The physician told me,
"Swimming is good for your back."

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So, what did I do?

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I started swimming.

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And I was, and I'm still ...

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an average swimmer.

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Can you raise a hand, how many of you
can swim a lap in the pool?

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So, why?

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Because I swim three kilometers per hour,

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and this is an average speed.

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But even though I was an average swimmer,

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in 2015, I had a dream.

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I had the dream of swimming
the English Channel:

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the strip of water
which goes from England to France,

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and its shortest part is 33 kilometers,

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and it's known for its cold water
and strong currents.

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And last summer,

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after two failed attempts,

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I was lucky, and I managed
to swim across it.

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(Applause)

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Thanks.

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(Applause)

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Let me describe what happened that day.

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I went at 11 o'clock at night
to the harbor.

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Departure time was midnight.

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I met my crew in the harbor:

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the crew from my support boat.

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It was cold, it was dark,

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and I knew that was going to be
my third and last attempt.

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I knew it's either now or never.

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I jumped into the water
without wearing a wet suit -

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just a swimming cap,
the goggles and the costume

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because that's how the tradition
wants us to do the swim.

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If you wear a wet suit, it doesn't count.

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During the night, I started having cramps,

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and after five hours,
I was thinking about giving up.

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This is a picture of me

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when I saw the sun rise,
and I started feeling better.

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But it was not over -

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I still had to swim
across blooms of jellyfish,

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against the currents

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and who knows how many hours
left to finish.

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After 13 hours,

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I was one mile away from France,

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but the waves started pulling me
back into the Channel.

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I spent four hours to swim to finish.

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I spent four hours swimming
in front of the same rock.

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And after 17 hours,

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eventually, I managed to arrive to France.

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And I was lucky, because not many people -

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less than 2,000 people -
managed to do the swim

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in the last 150 years.

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And that's not many

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if you compare with the number of people
who finished an Ironman only last year:

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50,000 people.

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Or if you compare with the people
who finished a marathon last year

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only in the US:

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500,000 people.

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So I realized

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under perfect conditions,
in the swimming pool,

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I was an average swimmer.

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But under extreme conditions,

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although doing the same thing,

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swimming,

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I achieved the extraordinary.

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So, how is it possible

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that an average swimmer can manage
to swim the English Channel?

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Let's think about the difference

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between the swimming pool
and the open water.

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In my opinion, it's the same difference
as between theory and practice.

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Swimming in the pool is the theory.

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I can focus on my technique,

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I have no distraction,

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I can swim straight,

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the water is comfortable,

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and visibility is great.

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Practice is like the English Channel.

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You never go straight

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because of the waves, because of the wind

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because of the current.

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The water is cold,
and everything can happen,

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like meeting the jellyfish

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or swimming at night with no visibility.

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So, pool and open water
are two totally different games.

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So, how did I manage to swim
across the English Channel?

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Well, I was persistent,

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I had a training plan,

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and I was surrounded by people
sharing the same passion.

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But that's not the real question.

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The real question is,

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How is it possible
that an average-skilled person

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manages to belong to the 99.99th quantile?

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And in my opinion, with my story,

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we can excel when doing something
under a challenging environment.

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So, for example, I can be extraordinary

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doing the same job but in another country.

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I can be extraordinary doing the same job
but in another company.

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So, this is a message
that I want to share with you tonight.

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It's a misconception
that we have in real life

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that to excel one needs
to be the best, without flaws.

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So, what's the true meaning of average?

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For me, being average was enough,

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and under extreme conditions,
it was extraordinary.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)