Chilling dedication: Ottawa man keeps cool with daily ice swimming
While most people try to avoid the bitter cold, one man in Ottawa is taking the plunge into icy water.
Tom Heyerdahl, a 61-year-old enthusiast of extreme cold, has been swimming in ice-cold temperatures on a daily basis this winter. At Britannia Beach, he, and a few friends, carved out a 25-meter ice pool.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"For the last, more than 40 days, every day, we have worked towards and maintained a 25 meter ice pool," Heyerdahl says. "So it's a swimming area that's about a meter and a half wide by 25 meters long."
For Heyerdahl, skipping a day of swimming is simply not an option. "Getting in is mandatory," he says. "Time spent in is negotiable."
Accompanied by fellow swimmers, Heyerdahl's determination is shared by others, like first-time ice dipper Karina Bittelbrunn, who took the plunge despite being nervous.
"I don't know. I'm not thinking. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just going to go for it," Bittelbrunn said before braving the cold.
She was able to spend nearly two minutes in the water.
"She did great. She did fantastic," says Heyerdahl. "That's not your average first time."
Meanwhile, seasoned ice swimmers like Angelo Ocana and Silke Reichrath love the experience of swimming in freezing temperatures.
"It feels amazing," Ocana says. "Every time I go do it, it's always hard. And I'm like why am I doing this. But then I don't think too much and just do it. And after I feel really good."
Reichrath, who initially intended to pause her swimming routine for the winter, found herself drawn to the dedicated group of year-round swimmers.
"I was swimming in the summer, and I was going to stop for the winter, and then I met these people and they said, 'We keep going year round.' And I said, 'I'll see how long I can keep going,'" says Reichrath.
Heyerdahl says his passion for ice swimming will keep him braving the cold for years to come.
"I am currently the eighth oldest man in the world to have swum an ice mile below five degrees," he said. "And I think the current oldest guy is 66. So, I'll take a shot at it. Who knows?"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Murder charge laid after man falls to death from Toronto apartment balcony
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.
Dozens in Italy give a fascist salute on the anniversary of Mussolini's execution
Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Zendaya tennis movie ‘Challengers’ scores at weekend box office
Zendaya and castmates Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino's original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Nicole Kidman, who 'makes movies better,' gets AFI Life Achievement Award
Morgan Freeman spoke the words, but pretty much everyone who took the stage at the presentation of the AFI Life Achievement Award agreed: "Nicole Kidman. She makes movies better."