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Three Dunedin ice swimmers have conquered freezing conditions to break records and maintain international selection.
Emilia Finer, Sophie Winter and Francois Lambrechts recently competed at the IISA Aotearoa New Zealand and Oceania Pool Championships in Alexandra.
The event attracted 43 athletes braving water temperatures strictly below 5°C, without wetsuits.
The Dunedin trio are members of New Zealand’s national ice swimming team, the Frozen Ferns.
Finer broke open world records in the 250m freestyle and 200m individual medley alongside claiming an age-group record in the 500m freestyle.
She is both a pool and open-water competitive athlete, training with the Neptune Swim Club.
The frigid conditions forced participants to rely on muscle memory because they lost their physical connection to the water.
“My hands and feet go quite numb, so I can’t really feel how much I’m pulling, whereas in the warmer water you can,” Finer said.
Para athlete Francois Lambrechts set a world record in the 1000m freestyle, finishing the gruelling race in 18min 13.50sec.
He said competing in extreme cold caused significant physical strain and required a dedicated support crew to help athletes undress and recover safely.
“To swim in 5˚C and under is not enjoyable. Everything is screaming at you to get out,” Lambrechts said.
“The longer you are in, you know, your body almost has to metabolise the cold.
That was where the support team was vital.
“It is 50% like a medical event, like a medical operation.
“You get placed in their hands, you’re not really in control of yourself anymore,” he said.
Despite the challenge, Lambrechts said the post-swim euphoria and deep bond with fellow swimmers and the support team kept him coming back.
“It is a drug. It makes you feel very well afterwards,” he said.
“You just feel very happy and everyone’s high on dopamine, a sense of wellbeing.”
Winter posted qualifying times for the World Championships but watched her 17-year-old sister Heidi steal her 100m individual medley world record by less than a second.
Heidi also set an open world record in the 200m backstroke.
Winter was pleased to keep the victory in the family.
“It was quite cool, actually.”
Finer will compete in the newly formed elite division at the International Ice Swimming Association World Championships in Oradea, Romania, in January next year.
Winter also qualified for the elite classification but remains undecided on whether she will attend.
Lambrechts qualified for the age-group and para brackets but said funding issues meant he would likely stay in New Zealand.
However, he encouraged more people to consider taking up ice swimming.
“We’ve got no excuse, especially living here in Otago,” Lambrechts said.
“There’s so many good swimmers … They should all be joining us and smashing records.”
The athletes’ times have been submitted but are yet to be fully ratified by the International Ice Swimming Association.
sam.henderson@thestar.co.nz