A report on I. PKO Praha’s participation
Anyone who needed a proper cool-down after a mild Czech winter could head to the World Championships in Tallinn for a dip in icy salt water. The 14th Winter Swimming World Championships took place in a floating outdoor pool in the marina at Tallinn’s harbour in Estonia, from 5 to 9 March 2024. On its website, organiser IWSA set the mood with northern tales of seals and polar bears living in harmony. Seals in the colours of the Estonian flag featured in the championships’ emblem, and polar bears on the medals. Fishing those beautiful medals out of the sea was especially difficult this year, with more than 1,300 swimmers from five continents providing formidable competition. Naturally, our club was there, along with other Czech Winter Swimming Cup competitors: a large contingent from Brno and swimmers from České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Plzeň and elsewhere. Our I. PKO Praha team comprised twelve swimmers.
The first four days featured individual races in the floating 25-metre seawater pool. Events included 25 m butterfly, 100 and 200 m breaststroke, 25 and 50 m head-up breaststroke, and 25, 50, 100, 200 and 450 m freestyle, in five-year age groups extending beyond eighty. Every event also had a para category. Two rules worth mentioning: swimmers must surface within five metres after the start and turns, and a one-handed touch is allowed on breaststroke turns. The water temperature gradually fell from 1.7°C to almost zero. Yet even at that temperature, seawater does not sting as much as our rivers — something we all agreed on. Marek Švejda and Ivan Landa won bronze medals in the shorter events up to 200 metres, while Petr Hensel collected the most medals for our club. As always, his breaststroke contests with Petr Mihola were especially tense. The Czech Cup does not give us much experience of such short races, but watching the leading men in the 50 m freestyle superfinal, for instance, was thrilling. The calm surface became a sea of waves, and the near-zero water seemed almost to boil. After each event, results were discussed in the sauna inside a huge tent beside the pool. In the evenings, celebrations continued at a restaurant in Tallinn’s old town serving the northern speciality pelmeni.
All the Czechs were naturally looking forward to the blue-riband event, the longest distance of 450 metres. IWSA puts great emphasis on safety, and everyone has their blood pressure checked before this race. Nerves, however, often push readings well above the permitted range. Ivan Landa, for example, was checked several times with different devices before being cleared to start. Once in the pool, he excelled and won bronze. Petr Hensel achieved our club’s best result, taking silver! Jakub Valníček and Ivan Lalák both finished in the top five in their age groups. Kuba also recorded an excellent 7:04, the fastest time of any Czech swimmer. After the longest race, a surprised Pavel Pinta was named the championships’ best cold-water swimmer and received a winter parka from main sponsor Dryrobe. He accepted it to thunderous applause in the packed yacht club hall where the awards were presented.
After the individual events, Friday evening brought an attempt at a mass entry in Guinness World Records: the largest winter-swimming relay ever, beating a long-standing record. It worked! To enthusiastic cheering, all 830 swimmers completed their 25 metres and passed on the imaginary baton. There were all sorts of remarkable strokes — freestyle with one leg held high above the water, nicknamed “the shark”, a backstroke–freestyle corkscrew, dolphin doggy paddle and more — as well as cheerful illuminated hats and smiling faces, even as midnight approached.
Mixed relays take place on the final day. We assembled an ambitious team from members of our club’s English Channel relays: Marek Švejda of Czech Lions, and Ivan Lalák and Petr Hensel of Czech Youngsters 60+. Joined by Lenka Šlehoverová of PK Slávia VŠ Plzeň, we became Czech Swordfish. Our club members Zuzana Pátková, Bernard Nizet, Ivan Landa and Jaroslav Zeman also formed an excellent team, Eskymo Praha. We gave it everything one last time. Against strong opposition in the combined-age 200–250 category, Czech Swordfish won bronze in the 4 × 25 m breaststroke. Eskymo Praha finished fourth in the over-250 category in the 4 × 25 m freestyle. Mixed relays are social occasions too, providing a friendly finale to the championships. Competition is keen, but the changing rooms, packed with hundreds of swimmers, are full of good humour. At the awards ceremony, IWSA announced the host for the next World Championships in 2026: Oulu in Finland.
Winter swimming is growing in the north just as it is here. As we dip into the Vltava in Braník, so many swimmers visit Tallinn’s beaches every winter day to enjoy an icy swim. See you by the water — and perhaps in two years’ time in Oulu, near the Arctic Circle!