South Africans Ram Barkai and Andrew Chin have been pushing the boundaries of extreme cold water swimming for several years having swum in various places including Antarctica. After a stamina sapping 43 minute (2.3km) swim in 4c Lake Zurich in 2009 Barkai stated
“That was an experience that gave me a sight of the end of The envelope. I decided I want to explore these types of swims, how far, how long, how cold, etc… and The best way was to formalize it, establish a formal body to regulate these swims and from that spread The word and share The experience of every ice swimmer around The world.”
Consequently, the international ice swimming asssociation was born. In the words of Barkai the aims of the association are
“To understand ice swimming better. Its impact on the human body. The role of the human mind in the process and to formalise ice swims around The world. Gain experience from everyone around The world.”
A positive development for extreme cold water swimming, who knows, perhaps in the future winter swimming could be a part of the winter olympics?
Ram Barkai
Great GPS info guys, definitely recommend the Garmin Astro 220