Swim in every ocean

“There were many mental hurdles and logistical nightmares that came with racing around the world in record time. My preparation had three components: a physical, climatization, and mental aspect. To set the world record, we had to swim a minimum of a kilometre in each ocean. We did more than 1.5 kilometres in most oceans, but I was also training to do cold-water swims without a wetsuit, under the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) regulations. When in Antarctica we didn’t wear a wetsuit if the water was below five degrees. This may sound funny but swimming in the Arctic Ocean felt warmer than I had envisioned, which only made me think of the growing impacts of global warming on our oceans and the world at large. Cold-water immersion was a big part of my physical training for Antarctica, but mentally it changed my life. For at least a year and a half, I was mentally and physically preparing my body to go into hypothermic stage two, so I had to practice consistent and efficient swimming techniques to ensure I was not submerged for too long. There were times when I doubted my ability. Times when I had negative thoughts swirling in my head, questioning whether I could physically do it, so it was important I put myself in these situations during training to help me push past this uncertainty.”

“So, I mean, so 36 years of swimming, and I’ve swam in every ocean of the world now. But the biggest changes I've seen have been up in the polar regions. And back in 2007, I did the first swim across the North Pole. And so I took a ship and and sailed right to the North Pole. And I remember standing there on the ship and I remember looking out over this icy terrain. The water is so cold. I mean the water is minus 1.7 degrees centigrade. But the reason why I'm there is to tell a story about how the world is actually heating up. Because everywhere there were these huge open patches of sea and I remember getting off the ship, standing on the ice and about to dive into the water and as I say the water is minus 1.7. It’s unbelievably cold and no human has ever done a swim in anywhere close to this water temperature before. And it's at that moment you ask yourself, you know, why are you here? And for me, it was a very, very simple reason. I was trying - through one swim - to shine a light about what is happening in the high Arctic.”