Club Noticeboard - February's Success!
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World Winter Swimming Championships 2008
On Saturday 9th February, Alistair Garmendia won Gold and Claire Hayward won Bronze, at the World Winter
Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido in London.
Competitors from over 20 countries from around the world congregated in Tooting to compete in the first World
Cold Water swimming championships to be held outside of Finland. Large teams were present from Finland,
Russia and other Nordic countries, as well as many swimmers who had previous experience in open water and cold water swimming.
The rules of cold water swimming dictate that competitors can only wear a normal costume or trunks, along with a hat and goggles. For the main races the standard stroke was ‘head up breaststroke’, introduced by the organisers of the Finnish Ice Swimming Championships as a way of levelling the field between elite pool swimmers and hardy ice swimmers. A special sauna and hot tub were provided to warm up the competitors once they had swum. Swimmers ranged in age from over 80 years to under 20 years took part during the day in heats for each age group. Swimmers were grouped in 10 year groups, band B for Alistair and band A for Claire. The pool was a chilly 6°C.
The heats began early in the morning with lots of music and cheering from the many spectators present, with Alistair qualifying second fastest for the final in his first cold-water swim. This was followed closely behind by Claire who qualified for the final in 5th position in her age group. Making the final was a surprise for both, as Claire’s speciality is 3-5km races in the sea, and Alistair’s is 100-200m in the pool.
After a short break the finals session began, starting with the oldest age category. As the afternoon continued the sun began to set and the wind slightly increased, turning the prospect of a final into even more of a challenge. Alistair’s final was first, and he found himself up against one of the Russian team who had qualified fastest. However, against all odds, Alistair won - winning the men’s band B (20-29 years) event, collecting gold and becoming World Winter Swimming Champion. His time of 18.40 was an improvement of his heat time of 18.72. Claire’s final followed shortly after and she managed to improve from 5th place in her heat, to 3rd, winning Bronze in band A (10-19 years). This was an amazing achievement for both swimmers as the event was something neither had taken part in before, and against experienced global opposition. Well done to both swimmers.
Heats: Results
Finals: Results
Featured on the BBC website
Further Information available: World Winter Swimming Championships Website
On Saturday 9th February, Alistair Garmendia won Gold and Claire Hayward won Bronze, at the World Winter
Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido in London.
Competitors from over 20 countries from around the world congregated in Tooting to compete in the first World
Cold Water swimming championships to be held outside of Finland. Large teams were present from Finland,
Russia and other Nordic countries, as well as many swimmers who had previous experience in open water and cold water swimming.
The rules of cold water swimming dictate that competitors can only wear a normal costume or trunks, along with a hat and goggles. For the main races the standard stroke was ‘head up breaststroke’, introduced by the organisers of the Finnish Ice Swimming Championships as a way of levelling the field between elite pool swimmers and hardy ice swimmers. A special sauna and hot tub were provided to warm up the competitors once they had swum. Swimmers ranged in age from over 80 years to under 20 years took part during the day in heats for each age group. Swimmers were grouped in 10 year groups, band B for Alistair and band A for Claire. The pool was a chilly 6°C.
The heats began early in the morning with lots of music and cheering from the many spectators present, with Alistair qualifying second fastest for the final in his first cold-water swim. This was followed closely behind by Claire who qualified for the final in 5th position in her age group. Making the final was a surprise for both, as Claire’s speciality is 3-5km races in the sea, and Alistair’s is 100-200m in the pool.
After a short break the finals session began, starting with the oldest age category. As the afternoon continued the sun began to set and the wind slightly increased, turning the prospect of a final into even more of a challenge. Alistair’s final was first, and he found himself up against one of the Russian team who had qualified fastest. However, against all odds, Alistair won - winning the men’s band B (20-29 years) event, collecting gold and becoming World Winter Swimming Champion. His time of 18.40 was an improvement of his heat time of 18.72. Claire’s final followed shortly after and she managed to improve from 5th place in her heat, to 3rd, winning Bronze in band A (10-19 years). This was an amazing achievement for both swimmers as the event was something neither had taken part in before, and against experienced global opposition. Well done to both swimmers.
Heats: Results
Finals: Results
Featured on the BBC website
Further Information available: World Winter Swimming Championships Website
