“Cold Conquerors: New Zealand Ice Swimmers Shine After Northants Preparation”

A global ice swimming squad that trained in a British lake has secured a multitude of medals at the world championships.

The Kiwi team, referred to as The Frozen Ferns, honed their skills for the contest in the frigid winter waters of Castle Ashby Lake in Northamptonshire.

The group won medals across different age categories at the event held in Italy, performing exceptionally in the 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke open finals.

Roger Soulsby, the manager of the Frozen Ferns, stated: “Our elite swimmers are completing 50m laps in under one minute. That’s comparable to Olympic swimming.”

The team selected Castle Ashby Lake as their training venue because of its nearly freezing winter temperatures and also because the coach at Castle Ashby – David Coleman – is a past New Zealand ice swimmer.

During the sixth International Ice Swimming Association World Championship in Molveno, northern Italy, participants had to compete in water temperatures lower than 5C (41F)

At one point, the water temperature dropped to -10C (10F), necessitating the organizers to frequently break thick ice with axes.

Among the remarkable feats, Emilia Finer achieved gold and established a new world record in the 200m individual medley.

She described the experience as both a mental and physical trial, adding: “It was unbelievably cold, and stepping into the ice is difficult each time, yet you can enhance your endurance to stay in for extended durations.

“For shorter distances, I emerge with an immense thrill.”

Mother and daughter team Charlotte and Heidi Brynn collectively won eight medals. Charlotte attained gold in the 1,000m freestyle and silver in the 500m and 250m freestyle events.

Heidi captured two gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle, a silver in the 100m backstroke, and two bronze medals in the 250m freestyle and 50m butterfly.

Her namesake – 16-year-old Heidi Winter – also won a gold in the 100m freestyle.

Her older sister, Sophie, 18, clinched a gold in the 100m, while teammate Madeline Hobo, 16, achieved two golds and a bronze in the under-18 division.