Ram Barkai and Gavin Pike, took on the icy 2°C Loch Faskally, known as the gateway to the Scottish Highlands, yesterday.
The founder of the International Ice Swimming Association and Gavin both lasted 35 minutes with the air temperature at -2°C. Ram, the International Ice Swimming Association founder, endured a 1-mile swim while his fellow tough South African teammate completed 1.4K.
In an admission to how difficult this extreme swim was, Ram said, “I got scared towards the end. I saw Gavin struggling behind me and he is a very experienced and strong swimmer. I was numb and could barely move. I knew we were truly pushing our limits. It was a very hard swim, probably my toughest yet.”
After his recovery, Gavin added, “I had a really tough time and can’t remember much near the end. The impact of the cold on both of us was profound. I was in very bad shape when I got out but we both managed to recover under the supervision of a doctor and our support team.”
Ram, one of three Antarctic swimmers with Lynne Cox and Lewis Pugh, will be featured this year in a television episode of Stan Lee’s Superhumans for his ability to swim in life threateningly cold water temperatures. “Our next challenge is the international relay swim across the Bering Strait between Russia and the USA in July 2012 with fellow South Africans Ryan Stramrood, Toks Viviers, Kieron Palframan and Andrew Chin.”
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source