Student who swam 3.5 km in the open sea and won the competition reduces training to pass Medicine: 'Much more pressure on Enem'

If for many students the more than five hours each day of the National High School Exam (Enem) is a true test of endurance, for Lívia Bianchi, breath tests have never been a problem.

The 17-year-old student, who intends to study Medicine, has been swimming since she was 2 years old and, last year, won first place in a 3.5 km race on the coast of São Paulo.

And although overcoming long distances in the open sea may seem like a big challenge, what has occupied the young woman's mind in recent months is, in reality, how to reconcile sport, her passion since she was little, with the dream of entering a popular course like Medicine.

➡️She is one of the more than five million subscribers who must take the Enem this Sunday (8). The second day of the exam takes place next week, on the 15th.

Currently, she divides her routine between swimming and muscle strengthening training, twice a week, and dedicating three to four hours a day to studying for the entrance exam.

"It's not easy to reconcile the two things. Many times I've thought about giving up on my dream of Medicine or giving up sport completely. But I understood that we learn over time and that it was okay if I couldn't follow a perfect routine", reports the student.

She says that her desire to become a doctor predates swimming competitions, starting when she was four years old. And, throughout childhood and adolescence, the two dreams went hand in hand – something that had to change at the end of high school.

It was at that moment that she started having to reduce the amount of training in order to focus more on her studies and had to abandon the waters a little to dive head first into the challenges that needed to be overcome in the classroom.

"I had to readjust my entire routine, especially in the last year. I only participated in one competition at the beginning of the year and didn't do any more due to the demands of school. It was a very difficult decision, but sometimes we need to know how to use our time in the best way", comments Lívia.

Even though swimming events carry a lot of responsibility, as it is a competitive environment, sport has always been an escape valve for the student.

Lívia says that being in the water is a way she finds to let her thoughts flow, an environment in which she allows herself not to think about anything else.

"The pool is the place where I can really relax, not focus on worries, on studies, and be very calm", he reflects.

According to teachers, moments like these are essential in the midst of an intense preparation routine for Enem and other entrance exams.

Allowing yourself to rest is also part of the learning process, as it allows the student to be able to look more clearly at the challenges they will face in the tests.

In addition to being an activity that Lívia considers very important to ease her mind, swimming over the years has been essential in teaching the young woman how to deal with moments of pressure.

"Obviously it's much more difficult to spend five hours doing an Enem test because there's a lot more pressure. You're much more tense, you have to stay extremely focused, you can't look to the side. It's much worse than a swimming competition", he compares.

Still, she understands that preparing for sports events made her learn to live better with this pressure.

The student sees that both are moments when you need to keep in mind that you don't have everything under control and that you need to remain calm to achieve the best possible result.

"In the same way that I have to stay calm for a swimming competition, I can't be anxious in Enem. I have to be able to stay calm to put into practice everything I've trained, everything I've learned", says Lívia.

In addition to tranquility, the young woman understands that swimming was also essential for her to learn to be resilient and know how to face all types of challenges.

"Swimming taught me to never give up on what I wanted to do, to be persistent. It was swimming that made me not give up on my studies", he says.