Earlier this year, ice swimmer and coach Gerald Daringer (48, Austria, IISA bio here, @daringer.gerald) completed an Ice Zero Mile in 0.37°C water. An Ice Zero Mile requires swimmers to swim in water below 1 °C for the entire 1,609 meters.
But he wanted to up his game – and go even more extreme in the ice using his innate discipline and mental strength.
He had previously swum 2,720 meters in water under 5 °C – a distance achieved by only a handful of people worldwide – but he wanted to do something ever more grandiose.
So he trained north for a Polar Ice Mile.
With a mixture of pain, planning, and perseverance, Daringer became the first Austrian to complete a Polar Ice Mile in the Arctic on May 29th in -1.7°C water and -2.10°C air temperatures.
He explained, “It is the brutal cold that paralyzes your whole body, your muscles, and even your consciousness. It is the power of nature that shows you how mighty reality can be — a reality in which your body struggles to survive. It is your thoughts that you learn to control in order to experience things with your body and mind that seem impossible.
On the morning of May 29th, my support team of seven members and I departed from Longyearbyen (Svalbard in Norway) on a two-hour charter boat trip into the open sea, heading toward Grumant City, an abandoned Russian coal mining settlement (78.2° N). There, our boat, the MS FARM, was anchored. A Zodiac boat with was launched into the water, and the swim course was measured using GPS and marked with floating anchor buoys.
After the official water temperature was measured using three separate digital thermometers, it was time for me to enter the water. The goal of my Polar Ice Mile was to swim back to the charter boat. After 26 minutes and 6 seconds, I had completed the distance of 1,609 kilometers in a water temperature of 3.4°C.
A long-held dream of swimming in the polar ice sea came true for me.”
Exclusive Extreme Club
There are four people in history who have completed the following ice swimming achievements 3 Extreme Ice Miles (over 2 km), an Ice Zero Mile, the Ice Triple Crown, and a Polar Ice Mile:
- Ger Kennedy of Ireland (IISA bio here)
- Ram Barkai of South Africa (IISA bio here)
- Paul Georgescu of Romania (IISA bio here)
- Gerald Daringer, Austria (IISA bio here)
Photos by JACKSCORNER – Thomas Griesbeck [info@jackscorner.de]. Additional footage is posted at @aqua\_n\_ice.
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