Ice Swimming Championships, Finland

World Ice Swimming Championships

Imatra, Finland

6-8 February 2009

After months of preparing by sitting in baths full of ice and swimming in the sea in the depths of the British winter, I competed against a field of over 600 international swimmers at the annual ice swimming championships which took place in a frozen lake in Imatra on the Finnish-Russian Border.

Competitors can only wear a standard swimming costume, cap and goggles and no substances such as grease or lanolin can be used to preserve body heat. The outside air temperature plunged as low as minus 20 and the water temperature hovered around zero degrees Celsius as we raced in a pool cut from the ice.

The race organisers place jets under the water surf ace to prevent the water freezing. I competied in the women’s solo swim, winning my heat, and also in the international relay as the Brass Monkeys.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!........