Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Qatar is among the seven countries preparing bids to host the FINA World Swimming Championships in either 2021 or 2023. Qatar was the host of FINA's 25m pool swimming championships in 2014, but the country bordering the Persian Gulf would also be responsible for holding the pool swimming, diving, open water
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Rostislav Vitek recently set the world record for the ice mile in Blansko, Czech Republic in 4.83°C water and 1°C air temperature with a time of 20:29. Since Philip Emslie first set the record for an ice mile with a 22:30 in South Africa, the record has dropped 2 minutes in 4 years. Magda Okurková has
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. South Africa's Philip Emslie is accomplished swimmer in both competitive pool swimming and masters swimming, but he also arguably has among the widest range of aquatic abilities of any open water swimmer in the world - at least water temperature-wise. Not only does Emslie hold the third fastest ice mile in
The International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) is the recipient of the 2013 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year for its work in governing and supporting the emerging sport of ice swimming on a global scale. Founder Ram Barkai provided the following statistics regarding the official ice swims accomplished to date, including the number of
The inaugural 5.3 km Atlantic Dash, postponed for a week due to unsafe conditions, got off on misty and cold conditions with the water temperature between 12-12.5°C (53.6-54.5°F). "All swimmers were accompanied by paddlers with shark shields on their crafts," explained race director Theodore Yach about the coastal swim from Clifton Fourth Beach to Three
