(Samoëns) They trained in lakes, rivers, at the foot of Patagonian glaciers, even in freezers… Nearly 500 athletes from many countries are taking part this week in the 5e swimming world championships in frozen water in a lake in Haute-Savoie in the east of France, near the Swiss border.
The spectacle is rather unusual on this chilly day in January in the sumptuous setting of the French Alps in Samoëns: at the call of the race judge, a first group of swimmers in classic swimsuits and caps glide through the 25-meter pool which has just been cleared of its layer of ice. Below, the temperature is 4.3 C°, cool enough for this young discipline which is practiced in waters at less than 5 C°.
On the edges, the atmosphere is concentrated: the 1000 meters, queen category, is also “the race of all dangers” because of the risks of hypothermia: the body temperature can drop to 32-33 C °, slips a judge .
To deal with any failure, swimmers are closely watched by dozens of officials, rescuers and divers who can force them out of the water if they perceive a danger. Each competitor is also accompanied by a “chaperone” watching over the grain. “The cold is very deceiving, they are in a kind of euphoria,” explains another official.
After the race, the half-dazed, half-exalted swimmers, their skin mottled by the bite of the frost, are directed to the “warm-up rooms” where they go through sauna, jacuzzi in several stages: a “work of recovery and return in the heat which requires a lot of energy”, explains the commentator of the race at the microphone.
The discipline mainly attracts people in their forties and fifties in search of surpassing themselves and a personal challenge. The youngest often come from the world of classic swimming like Ludivine Blanc, 27, who broke a new world record in the 50-meter backstroke on Thursday. “I’m very afraid of the cold, it’s really a phobia. So I’m on it! she smiles, barely out of the water.
The “Ice Mermaid”
To prepare for the big ice bath, everyone has their own method. Barbara Hernandez, a tall 37-year-old Chilean brunette, trained “among the glaciers of southern Chile in Patagonia, and also in the mountains”.
“In February I will also go to Antarctica. In Chile, and here too, they call me the mermaid of the ice”, laughs the radiant young woman, who according to specialized sites has multiplied exploits of this type in recent years, such as crossing the Strait of Magellan-former glacial valley in southern Patagonia.
In the absence of such an exceptional setting, some swimmers take cold showers or have “bins with ice cubes” at home, explains Catherine Plewinski, the director of the competition, herself a former swimming champion. “Adaptation is done little by little, as for any discipline”.
Another participant, Florian Milesi, relies on breathing exercises and short stays in a freezer. “I did twice three minutes at 0.3°C to prepare. When I get into the water, it doesn’t seem cold to me…”, he explains. It’s a sport that tends to “attract all the crazy people a bit,” he admits.
“Wacky Idea”
The practice of ice bathing has existed for a long time – it is notably a well-established ritual in Orthodox countries during Epiphany, on January 19.
The “wacky idea” of turning it into a swimming competition germinated about fifteen years ago in the mind of a former South African entrepreneur, Ram Barkai, famous in the sphere for his adventures in extreme environments.
This dashing sixty-year-old organizes swimming courses in Antarctica and in 2009 founded the International Ice Swimming Association in order to provide a secure environment and to “professionalise” it.
“For the past 15 years, I’ve been told in absolutely every language that I’m crazy, that it’s dangerous and stupid, but I believed it,” he laughs.
“People love it,” he says, pointing to the enthusiastic audience gathered at the edge of the Samoëns basin. “It’s a very interesting combination of stimulation and challenge, like fire in ice. Mentally it’s very hard but when you go out, people walk on water”.