Peter Pan Was Frozen Over
The annual Peter Pan Christmas Day swim was cancelled due to the frozen lake. The hardy members of the Serpentine Swimming Club were shut out for the first time since 1981 when London’s Hyde Park was frozen over.Club secretary Brian Thomas jumped in where the lake ice was broken up (see below) and commented, “We just went for a quick dip and a wade in the ice. It was chilly but invigorating. It was disappointing as it’s obviously a big event. We have races every Saturday morning but this is the one everybody wants to win.”
The race was first held in 1864 and the Peter Pan Cup has been awarded since 1904 when it was introduced by novelist Sir James Barrie. Despite the freeze-out in Hyde Park, members of England’s oldest swimming club were able to take part in their annual Christmas Day dip in the English Channel where the temperature was a slightly warmer 3.3ºC (37.9ºF).
Copyright © 2010 by Open Water Source
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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