He felt great, like he accomplished the impossible. He is so proud of his medal and wants to do more. Of course we praised his completion! And we talked about moving past set backs afterwards, and sticking to it as well.
I think when he first got out of the water he was a bit scared to go on but we all rushed him to his bike and pushed him onward and by the time he finished he felt better about it. It also helped that the man who went out and got him was a regular competitor and told him that everyone freaks out in the water occasionally and told him about his own experiance and how he got past it. So he wasn't made to feel bad about it at the time.
I think the best part about it is that when he is faced with something that seems impossible in the future he can look back and see what he accomplished. I am hoping that we will see a difference in some of his choices, only time will tell.
