Courtesy of Ram Barkai, Lesotho, Africa.
25-year-old Fergil Hesterman from the Netherlands – known as the Frozen Flying Dutchman – completed his 5th Ice Mile in the high altitude of over 3000 meters in a mountain lake in Lesotho, Africa on June 16th.
Hesterman has proven himself to be tough, hardened and fast – and is quickly becoming prolific in the ice swimming world with five career Ice Miles and 11 Ice Kilometers to date.
Hesterman’s flat-out raw speed that makes him an immediate and long-term threat to stand on the podium at future world ice swimming championships. He initially stood on top of the world championship podium in the 500m race at the 2017 Ice Swimming Aqua Sphere World Championships in Burghausen, Bavaria, Germany.
Ice Miles
1st Ice Mile: January 2016 in Volendam, Netherlands in 4.97°C water, he swam 1.0 mile in 20 minutes 40 seconds
2nd Ice Mile: January 2017 in Volendam, Netherlands in 4.33°C, he swam 1.0 mile in 20 minutes 50 seconds
3rd Ice Mile: March 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 4.63°C, he swam 1.17 miles in 25 minutes 25 seconds
4th: January 2018 in Volendam, Netherlands in 3.93°C, he swam 1.0 mile in 21 minutes 3 seconds
5th: June 2018 in the mountains of Lesotho, South Africa in 3.0°C, he swam 1.0 mile in 21 minutes 51 seconds
Ice Kilometers
1st km: December 2016 in Burghausen, Germany in 3.8°C in 12 minutes 40 seconds
2nd km: December 2016 in River Labe, Czech Republic in 1.6°C in 14 minutes 12 seconds
3rd km: December 2016 in Vienna, Austria in 4.3°C in 12 minutes 23 seconds
4th km: January 2017 in Burghausen, Germany in 3.4°C in 13 minutes 8 seconds
5th km: January 2017 in Zwembad de Waterdam, Netherlands in 4.2°C in 12 minutes 38 seconds
6th km: December 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam in 4.5°C in 15 minutes 29 seconds
7th km: January 2018 in Veitsbronn, Germany in 3.8°C in 12 minutes 38 seconds
8th km: January 2018 in Stawy Katowice, Poland in 2.3°C in 11 minutes 28 seconds
9th km: January 2018 in Zwembad de Waterdam, Netherlands in 3.6°C in 13 minutes 6 seconds
10th km: January 2018 in Wild Water Armagh, Ireland in 4.4°C in 13 minutes 13 seconds
11th km: June 2018 in Lesotho in 3.0°C in 12 minutes 53 seconds
For more information on ice swimming and the International Ice Swimming Association, visit here.
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