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
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he does not regret calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko,' and now his MPs are renewing calls for the House of Commons Speaker to resign, this time over ordering the Official Opposition leader to leave the chamber.
Is it cold, flu or norovirus? Symptoms explained
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading across Canada, with some symptoms overlapping with other viruses. CTVNews.ca spoke with a health expert to find out how you can tell you have norovirus, the most common form of stomach flu, and what to do if you have it.
Doctors dealing with at least 160 Canadians suffering eye damage possibly linked to looking at the eclipse
Nearly a month after the total solar eclipse, at least 160 cases of eye damage have been reported across the country.
Ontario's police watchdog continues probe of high-speed pursuit involving fatal crash
The investigation continues into a collision that killed two grandparents and their infant grandchild during a high-speed police chase on the wrong way of Highway 401 east of Toronto.
Stranded cruise passengers in Spain race to catch up with their ship
A month after eight Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were stranded in Africa when their ship left without them because they were late getting back, a U.S. couple – ages 84 and 81 – were also left behind by the cruise line in Spain.
Blair says he couldn't sell cabinet on meeting 'magical threshold' of NATO target
Defence Minister Bill Blair says he couldn't convince the Liberal cabinet that Canada's government needed to meet NATO's spending target in its recent defence policy update.
London Drugs expected to give update on store status following 'cybersecurity incident'
Days after dozens of London Drugs locations closed due to a 'cybersecurity incident,' a spokesperson for the company says an update on the stores' status is expected Wednesday morning.
No criminal charges after 4 newborn bodies found in Boston freezer
A prosecutor in Massachusetts won't seek criminal charges against anyone, two years after four newborns were found in a freezer in a South Boston apartment.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.