With cold water athletes in heavy training for the upcoming IISA 1st European Championship to be held between February 1st – 4th 2024 in Oradea, Romania (see schedule below), there is a whole lotta acclimatization going on around the European continent.
320 swimmers from 27 countries including Albania, Cyprus, Great Britain, Lithuania, Portugal, Turkey, Andorra. Czech Republic. Greece, Luxembourg, Romania, Ukraine, Armenia, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, Russia, Austria, Estonia, Iceland, Moldova, San Marino, Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Monaco, Serbia, Belarus, Finland, Israel, Montenegro, Slovakia, Belgium, France, Italy, Isle of Man, Netherlands, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Croatia, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Poland, and Switzerland will take part.
Race Day 1 on February 2nd 2024
- 500m freestyle
- 50m butterfly
- 100m backstroke
- 50m breaststroke
- 4x50m mixed freestyle relay
- 500m freestyle
Race Day 2 on February 3rd 2024
- 1000m freestyle
- 100m freestyle
- 100m breaststroke
- 4x50m VIP relay
Race Day 3 on February 4th 2024
- 250m freestyle
- 50m backstroke
- 100m butterfly
- 50m freestyle
- 4x250m country relay freestyle
The 2024 European Ice Swimming Championship will be held in the outdoor Olympic pool Ioan Alexandrescu.
“We want this important sport event to be a real show and we are waiting for as many people as possible at the pool to familiarize themselves with the beauty of this extreme sport . Entry will be free for the public. The contest will take place on February 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
In the morning, between 9 am and 1 pm, the qualification heats will take place, and the swimmers with the best 8 times will fight for the podium, at night, in the evening session, from 4.30 pm to 6 pm.
I expect the water temperature to be between 2 and 4°C.
Swimmers will have at their disposal, for recovery two hot baths and a sauna,” said Paul Georgescu, president of the Ice Swimming and Open Water Sports Association.
“Oradea is one of the most beautiful cities in Romania and the infrastructure allows us to have perfect conditions: large hotels will host approximately 1,000 people, including 320 swimmers. In terms of organization, the biggest advantage is the outdoor pool, which is located at a very short distance from the covered one, where we will organize the Ice Village, the place where the competitors will prepare for the races.”
Superstars like Olympian and world record holder Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria [shown above], long-time rival and fellow English Channel swimmer, professional marathon swimmer, and ice-swimming record holder Christof Wandratsch of Germany [shown above], Olympian Rostislav Vítek of the Czech Republic, King of the Ice Marcin Szarpak of Poland [shown below], and Queen of the Ice Alisa Fatum of Germany [shown below], the Ice Kilometer champions.
For more information, visit here.
© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“
Will the 2024 European Ice Swimming Championships be televised? I’d love to watch it. I’m in South Australia.