About cold water swimming

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Aficionados of cold water swimming claim it gives them the ultimate high, making them feel invigorated, even euphoric. Swimming in the depths of winter is popular in Russia, China and Scandinavia - Finland has held the Winter Swimming Championships for several years. Finnish competitions attract thousands of entrants who willingly plunge into pools carved from the ice, while the air temperature plummets to as low as minus 45C. While it may not be quite so cold in south London the water will still feel pretty chilly at an average of 4C.

Despite the freezing temperatures, the rules of cold water swimming dictate that competitors can only wear normal costume or trunks, along with a hat and goggles. For the main races the standard stroke is ‘head up breaststroke’, introduced by the organisers of the Finnish Ice Swimming Championships as a way of levelling the field between elite pool swimmers and hardy ice swimmers. It also has the benefit of retaining more heat in the body and has now become the preferred stroke for cold water swimming competitions.

Notable cold water swimmers include Britain’s Lewis Gordon Pugh who has undertaken epic swims in all five of the world’s oceans, and American Lynne Cox who swam more than a mile in the freezing waters of Antarctica in 2002.

Converts to cold water swimming insist the practice has real health benefits. While these are still subject to medical debate, habitual winter swimmers say it boosts the immune system, circulation and even libido. Certainly, Lido regulars do not seem to suffer any more colds and flu than the rest of the population and they all agree that cold water swimming gives them an unbeatable feel-good factor. However, it is a good idea for swimmers to obtain medical advice and acclimatise to cold water before competing.