You came home a week ago. How long have you been in the Svalbard Islands?
We were on the road for seven days. We are in Norway to see Oslo sooner. The expedition met there, and we all flew to the town of Longyearbyen on an archipelago that all Norwegians call Svalbard.

How many members did the expedition have?
16 swimmers and about 20 people from all over the world, including Africa or Australia, have already taken part. We were the only three representatives from the Czech Republic.

What were the swimming conditions like on site?
Complicated. We were to swim in one of the fjords on various routes in lengths of 250 meters, half a kilometer, a kilometer and a mile (1.6 km – editor’s note). The air had a temperature between minus 13 to minus 15 degrees Celsius and the water minus two to three degrees. At sea, it can reach negative values ​​without freezing. These were conditions in which no one ever swam. Now that none of the frozen swimmers were able to climb the ladder back aboard the escort ship. For security reasons, therefore, the swimming grounds were moved to the pier in the port of the city. An escort and a doctor could follow him.

You planned to cover a mile, in the end you chose a shorter, kilometer track …
About a month before departure, I swam an ice mile at our Otuzilec base on Libušín Lake near Kladno, where it had water plus three degrees Celsius. However, every degree of difference is very familiar. So I decided on a shorter route. Nevertheless, I became the first Czech to swim a kilometer in such conditions.

You also chose a shorter track, 250 meters long, for your 18-year-old son and wife. Originally they had to swim half a kilometer …
I forbade my son half a kilometer. He was really upset and offended. He was looking forward to it. In protest, instead of the classic kraul, he swam positively to prove that he would do what he wanted. Markéta also completed the same track. She is an experienced swimming instructor, but she has been hardening for a relatively short time, only about a year and a half.

Is it true that Jích’s name appears in the Guinness Book of Records?
Yes. We are the only family in the world to have experienced something similar. In addition, his son Filip is the youngest swimmer in icy water.

How did you prepare for the expedition?
In the past, I participated in all the events of the Czech Swimming Winter Cup, which means a race practically every week. Paradoxically, the fact that the expedition postponed the pandemic by two years benefited our family’s preparations. But as Central Europeans, we are somewhat handicapped. After all, training in the sea is different from fresh water.

What do you mean when you swim submerged in icy water?
For example, Milan Štengl, whom I accompanied when crossing the English Channel, sang the song Lulu from Honolulu by Ivan Mládek. Three hours in a loop over and over. I know people who count … I’m thinking of being a worthy swimmer and not embarrassing those who have already accomplished a lot in this field. My main motivation is to get to the goal.

What times have you reached?
I’m less than twenty-twenty minutes away. The son swam 250 meters in almost four minutes, the wife in less than six minutes.

What are you swimming in? Do you have special clothes?
No. I had a swimsuit, a gel cap, a watch on my hand.

What interesting experience do you have in addition to swimming from the north of Europe?
The program was clear. Acquaintance of participants, then two swimming days. On the fourth day we went to see the dog sleds on the glacier in the ice caves. I thought he would take us to a station, there he would go with us on a sleigh and a “chimney”. But I was terribly wrong. We got a list of dogs, overalls. The guide showed us how the team is driven, helped the dogs to harness and three teams were formed. The guide drove the first one and we were already driving the others ourselves. Along the way you have to feed the dogs and the like. It was an amazing day trip.

What awaits you in the next period? Is there a new record planned?
In June this year, my son and three other swimmers will have a relay crossing the English Channel. Next year, his son would like to conquer the canal in a solo voyage. If he succeeded, he would become the youngest Czech man to do so.

And will your dream of swimming an ice mile beyond the Arctic Circle remain unfulfilled forever?
There is talk that a similar expedition should take place again, this time at the South Pole, where it took place in 2018.

And will you attend?
I’m already logged in.