Goodlettsville dentist conquers sharks, waves, cold as successful open-water swimmer

As Joanna Cooper looked out over San Francisco Bay on July 9, her husband was nowhere to be found.

She worried that he had been swallowed up by one of the massive, dark waves pounding the shore — or worse, by one of the sharks swimming below. Gray clouds hung on the horizon, and a singular white boat was visible in front of the looming silhouette of Alcatraz.

It had been just under two hours since Don Cooper dove into the waves. By Joanna's count, he should have been about three-quarters of the way through his 4-mile swim around the island prison.

Right as she launched into a prayer for Don's safe return, Joanna saw a man emerge from the water and dash through the finish-line flags. It took her a few moments to realize that it was her husband, who had arrived in record time.

Don Cooper, 65, reached the shore in one hour and 49 minutes, good for third overall, second out of all males and first in his age group. The only swimmers in front of him were a pair of teenage siblings.

"I was on the beach before (Joanna) even saw me," Cooper said, prompting a laugh from his wife.

Cooper, a dentist from Goodlettsville, trains for open-water swimming seven days a week. Whether he's swimming in Percy Priest Lake as the sun rises or counting laps at Centennial Sportsplex, Cooper never misses a day. He has competed in a few dozen open-water races across the western hemisphere, from Bermuda to San Francisco.

It doesn't matter to Cooper that the conditions he races in are rarely comparable to the glassy waters of Percy Priest. It's all just water.

"Just being strong and swimming every day is the most important thing," Cooper said.

'Breathing is highly overrated'

Cooper isn't afraid of sharks.

They're mostly bottom-feeders, he said, so sharks aren't worth worrying about.

Instead, his biggest concern heading into the Alcatraz race was the the cold. The water temperature was around 50 degrees. But his wetsuit, purchased specifically for the race, kept the cold at bay.

With those worries at ease, Cooper had another challenge ahead of him: breathing. With wind whipping over the water and swells crashing over him with every stroke, Cooper was lucky if he got a full breath even a third of the times he tried.

"Breathing is highly overrated," Cooper said.

Cooper has carried that mantra with him since he began open-water swimming about a decade ago. He learned it from his coach, Olympic gold medalist Ashley Whitney.

Her roots are in pool racing, but Whitney found a renewed love in open-water swimming as she grew older.

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Now, Whitney encourages all of her masters swimmers — adults like Cooper looking to stay competitive — to try open-water swimming.

For former college and competitive swimmers, open water offers a change of pace. For those like Cooper, who took up competitive swimming later in life, it's a way to improve without fixating on best times.

"In open water, every day you could swim the same course or same distance in the same lake or river, but no two days are going to be alike," Whitney said. "I love the idea that there's no comparing."

'It's beautiful. It's quiet'

Whitney encouraged Cooper to try open-water swimming about eight years ago when she joined the Nashville Aquatic Club as a coach. She, Cooper and a number of his teammates often travel to races together. 

At Alcatraz this year, though, Cooper was on his own. Joanna was on the shore, cheering him on, but Cooper didn't see a single other swimmer the entire time he was in the water. Each time he looked up to check his progress, all Cooper could see was the white pacing boat in front of him.

That feeling of isolation was a familiar one.

He once swam from the island of Nevis to St. Kitts in the Caribbean, and for the full 2.5 miles, he never saw another swimmer.

"You just put your head down, keep going, and enjoy the swim," Cooper said.

Open-water swimming is an entirely different beast compared to swimming in a pool. There are no flip turns, no laps to count and no walls to touch.

It's an even more individualized sport, meaning that Cooper can tailor his workouts and races to his exact interests.

"You're just out there by yourself," Cooper said. "In the mornings when I swim at Percy Priest and the sun's coming up, it's beautiful. It's quiet."

'Man, I'm not going to make it'

Joanna Cooper has been a steadfast supporter of her husband's open-water swimming career since it began. If she's not on shore for a race, it's because she's in a kayak alongside him.

But that doesn't mean she always loves watching him swim.

"I cheer him on, but really I sit and pray," Joanna said. "I get very nervous when he's swimming."

"Especially on that one," Cooper said of the Alcatraz swim, "because I really didn't know what to expect in that swim. … Several times I thought, 'Man, I'm not going to make it.'"

One or more of their six children will often join Joanna on the shore or in a kayak to cheer on their father.

"They move together and are so supportive of him," Whitney said. "It's really neat to see that family environment being so supportive like that."

Cooper's teammates are similarly supportive, and Whitney thinks they rally around him because of his leadership qualities. Plus, his smile never leaves his face, she said.

"Everybody wants to swim in Don's lane," Whitney said.

He's got a drawer stuffed with awards from the last eight years, but he doesn't display any of them. He's not in the sport for the glory.

He's in it for his wife, his kids, his teammates and his coach.

"The swimming part of it is great," Cooper said. "But the social part of having somebody to be there with you and work out every day is even better."

Emma Healy is a sports reporting intern for The Tennessean. Contact her at ehealy@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_EmmaHealy_.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Meet this 65-year-old Goodlettsville dentist, open-water swimmer