In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

ENDURANCE 89
themselves against the cold seawater by covering their skin with a layer
of grease. [see Gomina] Although swimmers risk losing conscience during
the crossing, those who succeed set an impressive example of the way
in which human will can dominate the human body. At the same time,
the mastering of the body is a form of instrumentalization, because
Channel swimmers belong to an international avant-garde of athletes
who receive considerable financial rewards for their performance. [see
Stars]
While the public does not necessarily expect any practical results from
acts that test the limits of the human body [see Action vs. Impotence],
records are often broken in the effort to transcend spatial boundaries or
surmount geographic obstacles. This is true for Channel swimmers, for
pioneer long-distance aviators, for mountain climbers, and for winners
of the Tour de France, who in several European countries enjoy the
status of national heroes. [see Mountaineering, Polarities] Even before
Lucien Buysse of Belgium wins the Tour in 248 hours forty-four minutes
twenty-five seconds (Annees-memoire, 42), the organizers of this event
begin to devise stringent new regulations, which, instituted in 1927, will
increase the number of competitors who fall by the wayside in the Alps
and the Pyrenees (Fassbender, 268ff.). The participants in the Tour de
France must endure a composite competition that consists of more than
twenty legs and a variety of different trials. Such bicycle races find their
structural equivalent in popular relay races, which-instead of consisting
of a series of legs-require a number of athletes to cover a large distance
in sequence, often competing with members of opposing teams at various
specialized tasks. Five weeks prior to setting a world record for a cross­
Channel swim, Ernst Vierkotter wins a relay competition on Berlin's
Spree River: "In the relay race, every swimmer is accompanied by a
rowboat with relievers. Never was the Spree more alive than on this
Saturday. Motorboats, paddleboats, and between them the heads of
swimmers ... Lining the riverbanks are improvised stands. By around
5:30, long before the arrival of the swimmers, all the tickets have been
sold. Thousands still are standing on the shore by the parliament building.
At 6:00 the first swimmers appear. 'Vierkotter! Vierkotter!' cries the
crowd. He is the first. A tough race, and a battle to the finish with
another swimmer. Vierkotter beats him by only two meters. Thunderous
applause" (Berliner Tageblatt, July 25).
A so-called Industriestaffel ("industrial relay race") held in Berlin on