Simon Griffiths | H2Open Editor | Monday 27 January
2014
On 19 January this year, Jonty Warnekan of
Harrogate joined the elite group who have completed a one mile swim in water of
less than five degrees Celsius – an Ice Mile.
Warnekan,
41, decided late in 2013 that he wanted to keep swimming outside through the
winter with a view to taking part in the Big Chill Swim, Windermere, in
February. He became a regular at Ellerton Lake, steadily increasing his swim
distance and time in the water under the watchful eye of Pauline Squire of Wild
about Swimming.
As a result
of injuries from a car accident, Warnekan had the lower portion of his left leg
removed. He has pins in the other ankle and a metal plate in his head. None of
this stopped him completing 10km swims in the summer and it wouldn’t stop him
doing the Ice Mile.
The swim,
supported by a team of 14, took 58 minutes to complete, with Jonty maintaining
a steady pace throughout except for the final stretch where he started to slow.
The International Ice Swimming Association confirmed the swim
on 23 Jan.
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