{{Short description|none}} {{EngvarB|date=December 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2008}} thumb|Ice swimming in Finland thumb|Two Russian women about to swim in a frozen lake '''Winter swimming''' is the activity of swimming during the winter season, typically in outdoor locations (open water swimming) or in unheated pools or lidos. In colder countries, it may be synonymous with '''ice swimming''', when the water is frozen over. This requires either breaking the ice or entering where a spring prevents the formation of ice. It may also be simulated by a pool of water at {{convert|0|C}}, the temperature at which water freezes.
In Nordic countries of Europe as well in Eastern Europe (e.g. Ukraine, Russia, and Baltic countries), winter swimming is a traditional cultural element and part of religious celebrations like the Epiphany in Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Russian Orthodox Epiphany and Ice-Swimming |url=https://www.expresstorussia.com/experience-russia/the-russian-orthodox-epiphany.html |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=Express to Russia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-01-18 |title=Orthodox Christians brave an icy dip to mark Epiphany |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51162735 |access-date=2025-12-24 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nadworny |first=Elissa |date=2023-01-19 |title=A tradition of plunging in an icy river persists in Ukraine, despite the war |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2023/01/19/1149995479/dnipro-ukraine-marks-epiphany-with-polar-plunge |access-date=2025-12-24 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>
Competitions for winter swimming also exist. Many winter swimmers swim with standard swimsuits rather than with wetsuits or other thermal protection. Famous ice and winter swimmers include Lynne Cox and Lewis Gordon Pugh.
Also, many locations in North America and Europe hold polar bear plunges, commonly to celebrate New Year's Day, although participants are not expected to swim and generally most do not swim.
International winter and ice swimming competitions take place around the world with two of the larger organizing bodies being the International Ice Swimming Association<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.internationaliceswimming.com/|title=International Ice Swimming Association - Home|website=www.internationaliceswimming.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-05|archive-date=1 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401065916/https://internationaliceswimming.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the International Winter Swimming Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iwsa.world/|title=IWSA - International Winter Swimming Association|website=iwsa.world|access-date=2017-10-05|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331231933/https://iwsa.world/|url-status=live}}</ref> Both organizations have similar competition guidelines including water temperatures typically below {{convert|5|C|}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iwsa.world/water-classification|title=Water Classification - International Winter Swimming Association|website=iwsa.world|access-date=2017-10-05|archive-date=1 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101131527/https://iwsa.world/water-classification|url-status=dead}}</ref> a {{convert|25|m}} pool often cut out of frozen bodies of water, and swimmers limited to goggles, one standard bathing suit, and one latex or silicone cap - neoprene is not allowed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.internationaliceswimming.com/iisa-rules/|title=IISA RULES {{!}} IISA|website=www.internationaliceswimming.com|date=21 January 2017|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-05|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102164421/https://internationaliceswimming.com/iisa-rules/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Maintaining the hole in the ice ==
One way that the hole is maintained at regular ice swimming places is with a pump that forces the water to circulate under the hole, preventing ice from forming. Small ice-holes can also be kept open by keeping a lid/top over the hole to prevent ice forming.
Most ice swimming places also use a specific heated "carpet" going from the locker rooms to the ice-hole,{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} both to make walking to the hole more pleasant and for safety as otherwise the water dripping from returning swimmers would freeze and create a dangerously slippery surface to walk on.
== National traditions ==
=== Northern Europe === thumb|Ice swimming in Estonia in 1972 In Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia and Sweden, the ice swimming tradition has been connected with the sauna and banya traditions. Unlike dousing, it is not seen as an ascetic or religious ritual, but a way to cool off rapidly after staying in a sauna and as a stress relief.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
=== Oceania ===
==== Australia ==== In Victoria, Australia, the Brighton Icebergers swim in Port Phillip Bay.<ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/euphoric-why-is-there-a-boom-in-sea-swimming-and-is-it-better-for-you-20201218-p56opp.html 'Euphoric': Why is there a boom in sea swimming, and is it good for you?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111054413/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/euphoric-why-is-there-a-boom-in-sea-swimming-and-is-it-better-for-you-20201218-p56opp.html |date=11 January 2021 }} Sydney Morning Herald 31 December 2020</ref>
=== Western Europe === In Germany, the International Ice Swimming Association hosts an official ice swimming event at the Wöhrsee, a lake in Burghausen.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/sports/for-swimmers-with-ice-water-in-their-veins-an-event-to-match.html | title = For Swimmers With Ice Water in Their Veins, an Event to Match | date = 15 December 2016 | access-date = 19 December 2016 | newspaper = New York Times | author = Andrew Keh | archive-date = 3 October 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241003030232/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/sports/for-swimmers-with-ice-water-in-their-veins-an-event-to-match.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
In Geneva, Switzerland, the yearly Coupe de Noël is an event organized in December since 1934. Around 2,500 participants, many of them dressed up, swim {{convert|120|m}} in Lake Geneva.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tdg.ch/geneve/2500-courageux-coupe-noel/story/17378954|title=Près de 2500 courageux à la Coupe de Noël|date=15 December 2019|via=www.tdg.ch|access-date=13 January 2020|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111150543/https://www.tdg.ch/geneve/2500-courageux-coupe-noel/story/17378954|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Central Europe ===
==== Poland ==== thumb|Swimming in ice hole in Chechło-Nakło reservoir in Poland The history of winter swimming (''pływanie w zimie'') in Poland dates back to at least the 16th century, when Wojciech Oczko, the physician to the Kings Stephen Báthory and Sigismund III Vasa, published a treatise called ''Cieplice'', which contained the information on the contemporary understanding of water-based therapies, including the indications and contraindications to ice swimming, swimming in ice holes, in ice cold temperatures.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
=== Eastern Europe and Russia ===
thumb|An ice hole is cut in the form of a cross in Russia to celebrate the Epiphany.
In Russia, ice swimming may have been practiced since pagan times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/11/swim-season-opens-in-december-a68537|title=Swim Season Opens in December|last=Skopich|first=Yulia|date=2019-12-11|website=The Moscow Times|language=en|access-date=2020-01-20|archive-date=12 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112092419/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/11/swim-season-opens-in-december-a68537|url-status=live}}</ref> During the period of Muscovite Russia, swimming in ice holes was a popular tradition. Records are dating the tradition back to as early as 1525. It was also an important court ceremony and a folk custom in the tsarist period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.itmo.ru/en/news/7243/|title=Ice Swimming: Russia Celebrates Epiphany|website=news.itmo.ru|date=16 January 2018|language=ru|access-date=2020-01-20|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031163800/https://news.itmo.ru/en/news/7243/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the Eastern Orthodox Christianity, ice swimming is connected with the celebration of the Epiphany. The Epiphany is observed on 19 January according to the Julian calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church and marks the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. To celebrate this, holes are cut in the ice on rivers, lakes or other bodies of water, usually in the form of a Christian or Orthodox cross.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025|reason=Last sentence has citations for its claims, but the whole previous paragraph may need citations for specific bits}} Around midnight, believers submerge themselves three times in the water to honour the Holy Trinity, after a priest says a prayer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Times |first=The Moscow |date=2023-01-19 |title=Russians Brave the Cold for Frozen Epiphany Swim |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/01/19/russians-brave-the-cold-for-frozen-epiphany-swim-a79985 |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-01-18 |title=Orthodox Christians brave an icy dip to mark Epiphany |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51162735 |access-date=2025-12-24 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Ice swimming on the Epiphany is relatively new. It was practised by only a few before the October Revolution of 1917 and occurred even less frequently in the time of the Soviet Union, when Christians were persecuted. However, the ritual became very popular in the 1990s since the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.<ref name=mosk /> In Moscow alone, 30,000 believers swam in ice holes during the Epiphany of 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-01-20 |title=An extreme way to rid yourself of sin… |url=https://observers.france24.com/en/20100120-extreme-way-rid-yourself-sin-orthodox-epiphany-russia |access-date=2025-11-01 |website=The Observers - France 24 |language=en}}</ref> There is a popular belief that the practice erases a person's sins, but this is not endorsed by the Russian Orthodox Church.<ref name=mosk /> The ritual is also performed in Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-01-19 |title=Orthodox Epiphany celebrations - in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/jan/19/orthodox-epiphany-celebrations-in-pictures |access-date=2025-10-31 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On the holiday in January 2020, 2 million people practised ice swimming in Russia for the baptism of Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Über zwei Millionen Russen bei traditionellem Eisbaden|url=https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/ausland/ueber-zwei-millionen-russen-bei-traditionellem-eisbaden-136247164|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Aargauer Zeitung|date=19 January 2020|language=de-ch|archive-date=20 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120132436/https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/ausland/ueber-zwei-millionen-russen-bei-traditionellem-eisbaden-136247164|url-status=live}}</ref>
Ice swimming is also practised during the entire winter by Walrus Clubs, whose members are called "walruses" ({{langx|ru|моржи}}, "morzhi").<ref name=ward /> In other Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria and Romania, the Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January. There it is tradition for Orthodox priests to cast wooden crosses in the water, which are then retrieved by the believers. It is popularly believed that the person who finds the cross is freed from evil spirits.<ref name=huff /> Other countries where this is done include Serbia and Montenegro.<ref name=horn />
=== North America === thumb|The Coney Island Polar Bears club in the water on 22 December 2013 The members of Canadian and American "polar bear clubs" go outdoor bathing or swimming in the middle of winter. In some areas, it is unusual or ceremonial enough to attract press coverage. "Polar bear plunges" are conducted as fund-raisers for charity, notably the Special Olympics, however these events do not actually involve swimming, but rather running into the water and back out again.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
The Russian immigrant professor Louis Sugarman of Little Falls, NY was the first American to become a famous ice swimmer in the 1890s. He attracted worldwide attention for his daily plunge in the Mohawk River, even when the thermometer hit {{convert|-23|F}}, earning him the nickname "the human polar bear".<ref name=suga />
The oldest ice swimming club in the United States is the Coney Island Polar Bear Club of Coney Island, New York, founded in 1903.<ref name=rocc /> The club organizes an annual polar plunge on New Year's Day as well as regular swims in the Atlantic Ocean every Sunday from November to April.<ref name=cipb />
=== Asia ===
==== China ==== Jinan is also the site of annual Chinese national winter swimming festivals since 2014, as an international invitational festival (in 2019 attended by approx. 990 winter swimmers from 12 countries, still according Chinese rules) since 2016, and, from season 2019/2020, as the International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA) 3rd stage of World Cup already according to IWSA international rules.<ref>{{cite web |title=3rd stage (Daming Lake, Jinan 2020) |url=http://events.iwsa.world/en/event/jinan-2020-world-cup-stage/ |access-date=21 December 2019 |website=iwsa.world |archive-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219062506/https://events.iwsa.world/en/event/jinan-2020-world-cup-stage/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=IWSA World Cup 2019-2020 |url=https://iwsa.world/events |access-date=21 December 2019 |website=iwsa.world |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514224702/https://iwsa.world/events |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=IWSA-rules |url=https://iwsa.world/records/rules |access-date=21 December 2019 |website=iwsa.world |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827184727/https://iwsa.world/records/rules |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Health risks ==
Winter swimming can be dangerous to people who are not used to swimming in very cold water. After immersion in cold water the cold shock response will occur, causing an uncontrollable gasp for air. This is followed by hyperventilation, a longer period of more rapid breathing. The gasp for air can cause a person to ingest water, which leads to drowning. As blood in the limbs is cooled and returns to the heart, this can cause fibrillation and consequently cardiac arrest.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The cold shock response and cardiac arrest are the most common causes of death related to cold water immersion.<ref name=tuck />{{verification failed|date=August 2023}}
Winter swimming is not dangerous for healthy persons, but experts advise that it be avoided by individuals with heart or respiratory diseases, high blood pressure and arrhythmia, as well as children and the elderly.{{cn|date=April 2023}} Through conditioning, experienced winter swimmers have a greater resistance to effects of the cold shock response.<ref name=jans />
Hypothermia poses a smaller risk. According to Tucker and Dugas, it takes more than approximately 30 minutes even in {{convert|0|°C}} water until the body temperature drops low enough for hypothermia to occur. Many people would probably be able to survive for almost an hour.<ref name=tuck /> There is no consensus on these figures however; according to different estimates a person can survive for 45 minutes in {{convert|0.3|°C}} water, but exhaustion or unconsciousness is expected to occur within 15 minutes. Consuming alcohol before winter swimming is also ill-advised because it speeds the onset and progression of hypothermia.<ref name=msg />
Experts recommend that care be taken when winter swimming in swimming pools and seas near the polar regions. The chlorine added to water in swimming pools and the salt in seawater allow the water to remain liquid at sub-zero temperatures. Swimming in such water is significantly more challenging and dangerous. The experienced winter swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh swam near the North Pole in {{convert|-1.7|C}} water and suffered a frostbite injury in his fingers. It took him four months to regain sensation in his hands.<ref name=wall />
== Health benefits == thumb|upright|Man smiling to camera while ice swimming at a summer cottage in Finland Exposure to cold water has been advocated as a treatment for multiple health conditions since at least the early 19th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Max |last2=Middleton |first2=Jo |last3=Cooper |first3=Sarah |date=2025-08-18 |title=Cold-water, Sulphur and ‘the itch’: James Henry’s principles for conducting controlled trials (1843) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-025-04027-x |journal=Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) |language=en |doi=10.1007/s11845-025-04027-x |issn=1863-4362|doi-access=free }}</ref> Although there are risks associated with the practice, scientific studies also provide some evidence for the following health benefits.
When compared to a control group on the profile of mood states rating scale, winter swimmers experience less stress and fatigue and more vigor. They report to have a better memory function, better mood and feel more energetic, active and brisk. Swimmers who suffer from rheumatism, fibromyalgia or asthma report that winter swimming relieves pain.<ref name="hutt" />
There are indications that winter swimmers do not contract diseases as often as the general population. The incidence of infectious diseases affecting the upper respiratory tract is 40% lower among winter swimmers when compared to a control group. Short term exposure of the whole body to cold water produces oxidative stress, which makes winter swimmers develop improved antioxidative protection.<ref name="siem" />
== See also == * Apetor * Ice bath * Boxing Day Dip * Cold water dousing * Polar bear plunge * Stunt swimming * Wim Hof * Epiphany bathing
== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=cipb>{{cite web |title=Welcome to Coney Island Polar Bear Club |url=http://www.polarbearclub.org/ |publisher=Coney Island Polar Bear Club |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728093817/http://www.polarbearclub.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name=huff>{{cite news |title=Orthodox Believers Celebrate Epiphany 2013 With Icy Dip Seeking Crucifix (PHOTOS) |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/06/orthodox-epiphany-crucifix-_n_2420252.html |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=11 August 2013 |date=6 January 2013 |archive-date=15 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115125445/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/06/orthodox-epiphany-crucifix-_n_2420252.html |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="hutt">{{cite journal |last1=Huttunen |first1=Pirkko |last2=Kokko |first2=Leena |last3=Ylijukuri |first3=Virpi |year=2004 |title=Winter swimming improves general well-being |journal=International Journal of Circumpolar Health |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=140–144 |url=http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/view/17700/20171 |doi=10.3402/ijch.v63i2.17700 |pmid=15253480 |doi-access=free |access-date=25 November 2012 |archive-date=7 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107010059/http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/view/17700/20171 |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name=horn>{{cite magazine |last=Horn |first=Heather |title=Beautiful and Otherworldly Photos of Orthodox Epiphany |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/01/beautiful-and-otherworldly-photos-of-orthodox-epiphany/267336/ |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=11 August 2013 |date=19 January 2013 |archive-date=9 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909171316/http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/01/beautiful-and-otherworldly-photos-of-orthodox-epiphany/267336/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name=jans>{{cite journal |last1=Janský |first1=L. |last2=Janáková |first2=H. |last3=Uličný |first3=B. |last4=Šrámek |first4=P. |last5=Hošek |first5=V. |last6=Heller |first6=J. |last7=Pařízková |first7=J. |title=Changes in thermal homeostasis in humans due to repeated cold water immersions |journal=Pflügers Archiv |year=1996 |volume= 432|issue=3 |pages=368–372 |doi=10.1007/s004240050146 |pmid=8765994|s2cid=21614210 }}</ref> <ref name=mosk>{{cite news |last=Moskvitch |first=Katia |title=Russia's trend for dipping children in frozen rivers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12806831 |work=BBC News |access-date=11 August 2013 |date=22 March 2011 |archive-date=20 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220223904/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12806831 |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name=msg>{{cite web|title=Hypothermia Prevention: Survival in Cold Water|url=http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/coastal_communities/hypothermia|publisher=Minnesota Sea Grant|access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref> <ref name=rocc>{{cite book |last=La Rocco |first=Barbara |title=Going Coastal New York City |year=2004 |publisher=Going Coastal |isbn=9780972980302 |pages=256–257 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tx-3l1hZfPQC&pg=PA256 |access-date=29 October 2016 |archive-date=3 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003030141/https://books.google.com/books?id=Tx-3l1hZfPQC&pg=PA256#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="siem">{{cite journal |last1=Siems |first1=W. G. |last2=Brenke |first2=R. |last3=Sommerburg |first3=O. |last4=Grune |first4=T. |year=1999 |title=Improved antioxidative protection in winter swimmers |journal=QJM: An International Journal of Medicine |volume=92 |issue=4 |pages=193–198 |doi=10.1093/qjmed/92.4.193|pmid=10396606 |doi-access=free }}</ref> <ref name=suga>{{cite news |author=The Johnstown Daily Republican |title=Prof. Sugarman's Latest Feat |publisher=The Johnstown Daily Republican |quote=Prof. Sugarman of Little Falls, whose river baths in midwinter have earned him a world wide celebrity and the title of "human polar bear,"... |date=7 April 1899 |url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Johnstown%20NY%20Fulton%20County%20Republican/Johnstown%20NY%20Fulton%20County%20Republican%201896-1899%20Grayscale/Johnstown%20NY%20Fulton%20County%20Republican%201896-1899%20Grayscale%20-%200403.pdf |access-date=31 August 2011 |archive-date=30 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430095654/http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Johnstown%20NY%20Fulton%20County%20Republican/Johnstown%20NY%20Fulton%20County%20Republican%201896-1899%20Grayscale/Johnstown%20NY%20Fulton%20County%20Republican%201896-1899%20Grayscale%20-%200403.pdf |url-status=live }}
{{cite news |author=The New York Sun |title=Professor Sugarman's Cold Baths |newspaper=The New York Sun |date=25 December 1898 |url=http://fultonhistory.com/ |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816214225/https://fultonhistory.com/ |url-status=live }}
{{cite news |author=The Otsego Farmer |title=Mid-Winter Bather |publisher=The Otsego Farmer |quote=In the coldest day of the winter, when the thermometer registered 23 degrees below zero, [Prof. Sugarman] took his plunge as usual |url=http://fultonhistory.com/ |date=7 April 1899 |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816214225/https://fultonhistory.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="tuck">{{cite web |last1=Tucker |first1=Ross |last2=Dugas |first2=Jonathan |url=http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/exercise-in-cold-part-ii.html |title=Exercise in the cold, Part II. A physiological trip through cold water exposure |work=The Science of Sport |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922211515/http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/exercise-in-cold-part-ii.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref name=wall>{{cite news | last=Wallop | first=Harry | date=3 December 2012 | title=The swimmers with ice in their veins | journal=The Telegraph | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9719063/The-swimmers-with-ice-in-their-veins.html | access-date=2 January 2013 | location=London | archive-date=30 December 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230155839/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9719063/The-swimmers-with-ice-in-their-veins.html | url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name=ward>{{cite web |last=Ward |first=Clarissa |title=Ice Swimming With 'Walruses' in Russia |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4137162 |publisher=ABC News |access-date=11 August 2013 |archive-date=3 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003030141/https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4137162 |url-status=live }}</ref> }}
== External links == {{Commons category}} {{Wikivoyage|Winter swimming|Winter swimming|travel information}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter Swimming}} Category:Swimming Category:Winter sports Category:Open water swimming Category:Bathing Category:Winter swimming