Ice swimming silver

Ex-sports pro hot in 4.23 degree water!

Ex-basketball pro Peter Hütter after ice swimming in Lake Hallstatt.(Bild: Marion Hörmandinger)

Flip-flops and swimming trunks, plus lots and lots of mental training and the 4.23 degree cold Lake Hallstatt. It was all part of this year's Austrian Ice Swimming Championships, where a former professional basketball player surprised everyone with a sensational second place.

The cold penetrates the skin, the autonomic nervous system switches to survival mode, releasing adrenaline and other stress hormones. There is a risk of gasping for breath. The vessels on the outside of the body constrict, the blood flows into the core of the body, trying to keep the internal organs warm. Nevertheless, pain quickly sets in after about ten seconds . . .