Yes, I know the video above is not Russian, but I’ve always wanted to use that video somewhere on swimswam, and…you get the idea. Ice swimming is not for the faint of heart. You’ve got to be sturdy, built to endure pain, everything you can think of when you think of Siberians.
According the Moscow Times, this past weekend crazy swimmers in Tyumen, ages 13-64, spent over 24 hours in frigid water, setting a Russian and World Record! It took thirty swimmers in all to accomplish this feat of human endurance. Apparently the swimmers took turns swimming, 11 times in all for each, covering a distance of 40 kilometers. They swam in a lane cut from the ice! Russian officials were present to witness and confirm the record-setting swim.
Tyumen residents are not new to recording setting ice swims, reports the Moscow Times. Another person broke the world record for the longest distance crossed in frigid water, 2.2 kilometers in slightly over an hour.
For more cool Siberian ice adventures, watch this video of ice drumming!
“No Swimming Allowed” video produced by Sam Javanrouh.