We are thrilled to announce that, subject to verification by the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA), Hazel Killingbeck yesterday became the youngest person in the world to complete a Ice Mile swim!
Hazel, who completed 1720m (100m+ over a mile) in just over 32 minutes, is only 16 years, 7 months and 4 days old!!! She is pictured here in between the safety boat and her father Graham’s kayak.
The team from Swimyourswim and Yorkshire Outdoor Swimmers (YOS) combined to oversee 3 Ice Mile and 2 IceK attempts at Harthill Reservoir, UK, yesterday.
With an average water temperature of 2.5ºC our 3 Ice Mile attempters each took to the reservoir to attempt two laps of the 860m course, whilst 2 IceK attempts did one lap and a short course to give them a total distance of 1080m.
All of our swimmers gave their very best – with the cold water draining them to the very core! Unfortunately, 2 of the Ice Mile swimmers – Sue Croft and Sally Buck were unable to complete the full course, but each of them should be commended for the swims they put in – which were nothing short of heroic!
Our successful IceK swimmers, Michelle Millard and Wendy Figures, will also have their swims verified by IISA and be added to their winter swimming hall of fame!
We will let you know more information once all the swims have been verified. In the meantime, we’d like to express our grateful thanks to everyone from the YOS family that helped us on the day! Wild swimming might look like an individual sport, but in reality it is definitely a team endeavour! Thanks to everyone who made the day possible!