Hi Kate! Welcome to the Red Ambassador team. Can you tell us a bit more about why you love ice swimming? “Ice Swimming has taken me to some of the most amazing places in the world and I have been fortunate to compete at several world championships, even gaining podium positions. I have also made so many good friends around the globe and met my partner through swimming. Not everything has been easy for me. Far from it. I have experienced some horrendous challenges in my life. I tragically lost my only son, Daniel, aged just 19, in 2018. The pain, heartache, loss and complete devastation this has caused is indescribable and every single day is hard. Swimming, especially in cold water helps me cope. Getting out into open water is “my space” where I can feel more at ease, and I try and find my reset button.”
Why do you think people go ice swimming and compete, what drives them? “Ice swimming is becoming increasingly competitive and attracting more swimmers with a history of competitive pool swimming. This is exciting and leads to more records being broken and new ones set - as happens with any new sport. I don’t have a competitive pool background. What attracts me to Ice Swimming is the challenge, the feeling of being with at one with nature even in the depths of winter, feeling the icy water on your skin, making new friends and having unique opportunities to swim in amazing places all around the world. Ice Swimming is not just about competition – it has an adventurous side too – which is where the Ice Miles come in. Ice Swimming can also be social. It appeals to many people of all shapes, sizes, disabilities and ethnicity. I often hear swimmers tell me that they love getting in the local lake or the sea but wouldn’t dare go to a swimming pool. There is certainly something special about outdoor swimming.” Has this rise in interest affected your own experience of Ice Swimming. Considering it is still a relatively small community, have you seen an increase in participants in the IISA events? “In 2016 there were 40 competitors for IISA GB Championships. This year we have over 100 entries. At the inaugural IISA World Championships in Murmansk, I was one of just two GB swimmers to compete (the other being Rory Fitzgerald). We have just held our 5th World Championships. There were almost 500 competitors in total and Team GB had 44 swimmers.”
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