The biggest hardening event took place in Prague. 360 people swam in the Vltava Company News Pražská Drbna
In freezing weather, 360 hardyers indulged in traditional Christmas swimming in the Vltava. The oldest, largest and most famous hardening event in the republic, the Alfred Nicodemus Memorial, was the 75th anniversary today. Lovers of diving in ice water met in the morning on Slovanský ostrov, where at eleven o’clock the races started on three tracks of different lengths. Last year, eight years ago, hardy people in Prague experienced a cold water similar to cold water.
The water was 3.4 degrees
The director of the competition and the chairman of the 1st Swimming Club of the Hardcore in Prague, Tomáš Prokop, said that the water was 3.4 degrees before the race, and the temperature dropped every hour from the night. The participants were able to take advantage of the hardening performance levels. This is only possible in so-called ice water, ie water with a temperature of up to four degrees Celsius. The air temperature in the center of Prague today was minus six degrees Celsius.
On the 750-meter-long competition track, the 27-year-old long-distance swimmer Lenka Štěrbová, who had previously won the race seven times, won among the women. Jiří Polanský (1978) won among men.
Last year, the event was undoubtedly an anti-pandemic measure, when the Ministry of Health made an exception for it. The water was 5.8 degrees a year ago, the air temperature was 1.8 degrees and 260 hardened swimmers. Also this year, only people who have had covid-19, those who are vaccinated or, under certain conditions, have submitted a negative PCR test, could participate.
The oldest swimmer was 82 years old
“I’ve been swimming for three years, I started before the covid,” he said before the start Hanuš Provázek, took today’s cold water as a requirement and set out on the longest route. He wore two swimming caps as did his girlfriend Andrea. Those who do not immerse their heads when swimming in cold water even wear a beanie, because their head leaves the most heat, he added.
The oldest swimmer today was Blanka Vyskočilová from Hradec Králové, who is 82 years old, the youngest participant was ten-year-old Kateřina Rejzková from Holoubkov.
The measured competition at 750 meters is the František Venclovský Memorial, two traditional fitness tracks are 100 meters like the Štěpán Polák Memorial and 300 meters like the Oldřich Liška Memorial. Today, swimmers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Britain, Austria, the USA and Russia will join the competition.
The first Christmas performance of the Hardyers in the Vltava took place in 1923
Among the active participants today were several conquerors of the English Channel, including Abhejali Bernardová, who conquered the canal in a unique ultratriathlon – after crossing the bike continued to Cheb and from there to Prague ran. In addition, Bernard successfully completed the so-called Oceans the year before – a challenging application for long-distance shipping, the fulfillment of which involves crossing seven straits on seven continents.
Kristýna Dyková, Michal Štengl or the Slovak swimmer Richard Nyáry swam in Prague today from this year’s conquerors of the English Channel. The winner of the canal is also the victorious Lenka Štěrbová, who sailed from England to France at the age of 16 as the youngest Czech Republic. The girls’ relay from the Říčany swimming club could not train in the pool during the lockdown, so the girls started to swim more outside, then they also swam and reached the Czech relay record. Today they also plunged into the cold Vltava.
The first Christmas performance of the Hardyers in the Vltava, then under the direction of Alfred Nicodemus himself, took place in 1923. , when in 1971 František Venclovský was the first Czechoslovak to cross the English Channel.