2022 World Winter Swimming Championships
On March 1st, Mariia Yrjö-Koskinen, President of the International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA), made the following announcement, “Since 2008 when the IWSA established the first Winter Swimming World Championships internationally, it has strived to welcome people and visit countries all over the world.
No matter how cold the water, the welcome has always been warm, and this positive vision has brought nations together.
We have watched the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with sadness and hope and pray for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation. The IWSA Board has discussed the position of our sport and given collective international response and for the safety of our swimmers, in the current circumstances it is impossible to hold the Winter Swimming World Championships in Petrozavodsk, Russia.
With such short notice we can only announce that the World Winter Swimming Championships will be postponed to 2023.”
But the IWSA World Winter Swimming Championships website (karelia2022.ru) posted the results of a full slate of events (see here).
167 women and 211 men competed in the IWSA 2022 World Winter Swimming Championships that were held in Lake Onega in Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia between March 21st – 27th. Compared to years past when over 1,000 swimmers came from around the world to compete in the World Winter Swimming Championships, the vast majority of swimmers were Russians in Karelia (including Daniil Danilchenko who set a world record by swimming a 24.61 in the 50m freestyle). Fewer than 10 swimmers also came from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Belarus to compete.
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