SA ice swimmers survive life threatening water temperature to raise funds

Press Release / 25.07.2010

Fraserburg, Northern Cape -- Six cold water veterans successfully completed a record-setting mile and 19 others swam 600m in an icy 4C dam near bone-chilling Sutherland on Saturday to complete the first ever Speedo Ice Swim Africa and to raise over R10 000 to help start a local school.

The mile swimmers included world record holders Ram Barkai and Theodore Yach who were both treated in a medical tent set up alongside this remote dam directly afterwards and who both described the swim as among the coldest and toughest they had ever undertaken.

“It was very, very cold but we all did it and we feel honoured to be able to have been able to do something for this rural community,” said Barkai, who is also the CEO of Cadiz and founder of the world famous Cadiz Freedom Swim.

Yach described the swim as one of the hardest he had ever undertaken. “For me it was beyond the outer limits of my ability,” said Yach, who was sponsored to swim by Marcus Rohrer Spirulina. “I am glad I have done it, but wild horses are going to be needed to drag me to anything close to this again. This re-defines extreme.”

The other mile swimmers included Ryan Stramrood, Kieron Palframan, Toks Viviers and Andrew Chin who all staggered out of the water after swimming for around 30 minutes in a life threatening water temperature of 4C.