Ice swimmer

Henri Kaarma at the 2016 Winter World Swimming Championships, photography by Konstantin Soldatov in Tyumen, Russia

Members of the Antarctica 2020, a series of ice swimming challenges and environmental swims inside the Antarctic Circle (66°33′46.5″ south) that was nominated for the 2020 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year

Cold-water swimmer Ram Barkai in Antarctica

Nuala Moore doing an ice swim in Russia inside the Arctic Circle

Alexander Brylin, the famed Russian ice swimmer and 2013 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year nominee

Alexander Brylin and colleagues carrying the Olympic torch relay on its way to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in 2ºC (35.6ºF) water in the Amur River

Ice Swimming German Open poster

Christof Wandratsch featured at the Ice Swimming German Open

Molly Conroy training at the Conroy Pond for her ice mile at the 2015 Ireland Ice Swimming Championships. Photo by Paul McCambridge / MAC Visual Media

Christof Wünter Wandratsch in the ready room at the inaugural International Ice Swimming Championships in Murmansk, Russia

Ice swimming in Murmansk, Russia at the Ice Swimming World Championships. Photo by Nuala Moore of Ireland

Vasily Mosin of Russia competing in the Tyumen Open Cup in Siberia in 0ºC water and -6ºC air temperatures, selected as the finalist in the Outsider Magazine Photo of the Cup. Photo by Nuala Moore, a fellow ice swimmer from Ireland

noun - Ice swimmer is an athlete who focuses on ice swimming, either for competition, fitness, adventure or pleasure. It also refers to an individual who has completed an Ice Mile under the auspices of the International Ice Swimming Association.

Usage

Ice swimmer Andrei Sychev swam 2250m in a water temperature of 0.3°C and air temperatures of -33°C in a pool carved out of a frozen river in Tyumen.

Competitive Ice Swimming

Sanctioned races in the sport include 25m freestyle, 25m breaststroke, 100m freestyle, 450m freestyle and endurance events. There is a global movement to add a 1 km ice swimming event to the quadrennial Winter Olympic Games where no wetsuits or neoprene will be allowed. Christof Wandratsch set a new 1000m world record in 13:00.51 in 0°C water and -5°C air while Renata Novakova set a women's world record in 14:21.68 at the inaugural International Ice Swimming Championships in Murmansk, Russia on 20 March 2015.

Open Water Swimming in Antarctica

Lynne Cox was the first human to swim in Neko Harbor and in Antarctica without a wetsuit when she swam 1.2 miles in 2°C (35°F) waters in 25 minutes in 2002
Ryan Stramrood, Ram Barkai and Kieron Palframan attempted an Ice mile in Neko Harbor in Antarctica in -1ºC (30.2ºF) waters on 4 March 2014
Andrew Chin completed a 1 km swim while Toks Viviers and Gavin Pike completed an ice mile in Paradise Harbour in Antarctica in -1ºC (30.2ºF) water also on 4 March 2014
Lewis Pugh has swum 1 km in 0°C waters off Petermann Island and 1 mile in 2°C (35°F) waters near Deception Island in 30 minutes 30 seconds, both in 2005
Ram Barkai swam 1 km at 70º south latitude, near Maitri, the Indian scientific research station in Antarctica, in Long Lake in 1°C (33.8°F) waters in 2008.
Bhakti Sharma swam 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in 1ºC water in the Southern Ocean in January 2015