The world ice swimming community descended upon Molveno in the Italian Alps last year at the IISA 6th World Championship. The global community did it again last week at the International Ice Swimming Association-sanctioned IISA 2nd European Open Ice Swimming Championships that was held in Molveno between February 3rd and 7th under the leadership of Paolo Chiarino, (59, Italy, IISA bio here) with Davide Belleti, medical officer Dr Michal Starosolski, and a local team. 

512 athletes from 32 nations (57% male and 43% female) competed in water that started at 1.3°C on Day 1 when heavy snow fell and rose to 2.8°C by the end of the event with a rainy day in the middle with an air temperature of 1°C.

The age range of swimmers was impressive. From 15-year-old Yarden Ben Porat (Israel, IISA bio here) and a pair of 13-year-olds Viola Leinfelder (Germany, IISA bio here) and Alina Kirchermeier (Germany, IISA bio here) to 88-year-old Gerhard Moder (Austria, IISA bio here) and 79-year-old Isabella Castiglioni. (Italy(, IISA bio here) The IISA safety age limit allows swimmers as young as 12 years to compete in 50m only, 14-year-olds cano compete up to 250m freestyle, 16-year-olds can compete up to 500m freestyle, and 18-year-olds can compete in the 1000m freestyle.

It was a full slate of events with the 50m events (freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke), 100m events (freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke]), 200 Individual Medley, 250m, 500m, and 1000m freestyles as well as the 4x50m freestyle, 4x50m individual medley, 4x250m freestyle country relays, and the fun 4x50m freestyle VIP and Olympians relay. 　The VIP relay is a tradition started by IISA President Ram Barkai (68, South Africa, IISA bio here) where he invites celebrities, members of the IISA board, VIPs from various walks of life and across borders, and the chairpeople of the IISA country federations to swim together and celebrate the sport.

The longer distances, such as 1000, 500, 250 freestyles and 200 IM, do not have finals because of the increased load on the swimmers. These events hold only heats, with the fastest heat by seeding time acting as the final race. The shorter distances, 50m and 100m, have heats and finals.  Denis Cabon, a well-known World Aquatics referee from France, served as chief referee, assisted by Wojtek Kosiedowski from Poland with IISA board members Ram Barkai of South Africa Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria, Jonty Warneken of Great Britain, Francois Bonnicci of France, Susan Sherween of New Zealand, and Joe Zemaitis of the USA. “It was fantastic to be part
of the team. Each board member rolled up their sleeves and got involved,” said Bonnicci. 

“This has been the best international event we have had since the beginning,” said Barkai. “It was highly professional, safety was well organized with 5 international Ice Swimming doctors, and the process ran smoothly according to plan. We will be back here again in the future.”

Medal Summary

Romania led the Championships in the overall medal count with 19 podium places, including six gold, seven silver, and six bronze across the elite and masters categories.
Germany came second with 14 medals, including six of them gold. France had 8 medals, two of them gold. Italy, the host, came in fourth overall with 4 medals. 

In the Age Group category, Great Britain took first place with a whopping 105 medals: 52 gold, 34 silver, and 19 bronze. Germany followed with 99 medals and France with 83.

In the paraswimming category, Denmark led the medal table with 11 medals, 5 of them gold, followed by Germany with 10 and Great Britain with 7 medals.

World and Championship Records

While Molveno 2026 focused on continental competition, multiple performances met significant time standards. World records broken at Molveno 2026 included:

• George Gimalov (21, Neutral Swimmer, IISA bio here, shown below on left), 50m Butterfly 26.15
• Viktoriia Lisitskaia (21, Neutral Swimmer, IISA bio here, shown below in middle), 100m Breaststroke 1:15.74 and 50m Breaststroke 34.61
• Prisecariu Aissia (18, Romania, IISA bio here, shown below on right), 100m Backstroke 1:07.04
• Daria Silisteanu (17, Romania, IISA bio here), 50m Backstroke 31.34

“It is important to note that in Ice Swimming events, swimmers are not allowed to dive in, tumble turn, or push more than 5 meters from the start or turn wall. These are safety measures. It is fantastic to see world-class records set under such terms,” said dual Hall of Famer Petar Stoychev. “Additionally, it warms my heart to see people in the age group record achieving such fantastic results in the ICE. And they just continue to get better and better.”

In the Age Group category, an astounding 68 world records were broken, with 32 by male swimmers and 36 by female swimmers. “It warms my heart to see people in the age group record achieving such fantastic results in the ICE. And they just continue to get better and better.“

Para Swimmers

Para swimmers from Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Israel, and other nations achieved multiple podium finishes and record-breaking swims, underlining the rapid global development of para ice swimming and reinforcing IISA’s commitment to inclusion. “The grit and determination shown by our para swimmers this week in Molveno have been nothing short of legendary,” said board member and para swimmer Warneken. “We are not just making history; we are redefining what para swimmers can achieve and what inclusive sport truly means. Para athletes have always been at the heart of IISA, and their success continues to drive our mission to build a fully inclusive sporting world.”

Return to Romania

IISA has decided to return to Oradea in northwest Romania in Transylvania for its 2027 European Championships. “We are aiming for January 2027, with exact dates to be confirmed once we receive formal approval from the Oradea Aquatic Centre, which includes a 50m outdoor pool and a heated 50m indoor pool“, Barkai said. “We expect around 1000 participants from close to 50 countries.”

Elite and Age Group Competitors

In 2027, Elite and Age Group competitors from Oradea will compete separately; swimmers must choose and qualify for one category and will be eligible to record performances only within that category. This will allow Elite and Age Group swimmers to compete in different events and support recognition of Elite records by World Aquatics and, ultimately, the IOC.

IISA will also review its rules to clarify distinctions between the Elite and Age Group categories.

Anticipated Drug Testing

IISA is engaging with WADA and intends to run the Oradea 2027 Elite races in compliance with WADA standards. There are no plans to apply WADA requirements to Age Group swimmers at this stage.

Men’s 1000m Freestyle Results

1. Andreas Waschburger, Germany 11:46.27
2. Axel Reymond, France 12:04.66
3. Filip Lewicki, Poland 13:17.97
4. Rostislav Vítek, Czech Republic 13:18.01
5. Marek Rother, Poland 13:55.43
6. Jo Saezmiera Abarrategui, Spain 13:59.27
7. Markus Marthaler, Switzerland 14:32.91
8. Jean Terver, France 14:28.74
9. Alex Rossi, Italy 15:01.88
10. VIktor Dluhos, Slovakia 15:03.02
11. Teodor Tsvetkov, Bulgaria 15:15.55
12. Mateusz Pawlica, Poland 15:18.40
13. Peter Plavec, Slovakia 15:33.31

Women’s 1000m Freestyle Results

1. Alisa Fatum-Böker, Germany 12:50.63
2. Cynthia Koolman, Netherlands 14:08.78
3. Marina Ini, Italy 15:20.67
4. Janneke Harmsen Bakker, Netherlands 15:30.50
5. Ian Clement, Great Britain 15:55.20
6. Gwladys Extremera, France 16:01.59
7. Helen Hislop, Great Britain 16:03.72
8. Laura Wilcox, Great Britain 16:11.96
9. Lisa Holm, Germany 16:20.64
10. Natalia Pocull Vinets, Spain 16:32.28

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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