it swims in water colder than 5°C
Swimming in icy water is a little known discipline but it is attracting more and more followers. In Marseille, Laurent Méret is preparing to participate in the world championships in Haute-Savoie. We met him. Chills guaranteed!
At 56, Laurent Méret is fearless. In fact, he is not cold at all when he jumps into the water.
That day, the thermometer in the swimming pool in which he trained showed 11.5°C. For this adopted Marseillais, it’s not cold enough, “it’s even too hot, it’s not good“, he says without flinching.
Ideal for swimmers, ice cold water between 0 and 4.9°C very precisely. “It is a cold that penetrates inside. A bone-chilling cold. Only those who practice this activity can feel what I feel. There, I just got out of the water, I’m cold but I feel good“, he explains lip service, trembling in all his limbs.
Enough to disconcert his friend Michel Jouberjean who lends him his swimming pool twice a week in winter. “That’s another world! Sometimes it was winter training when outside it was only 5°C. Comment does it? I take my hat off to it, even if you have to admit it, you have to be a bit fada to do that!“, underlines his friend taken aback.
On this video, here he is during the French ice water championships. Laurent Méret finished 11th place. A taste of the world championships which will take place in Samoëns in Haute-Savoie in about ten days, and for which he has been preparing for three years.
video length: 21sec
At the French ice water championships, Laurent Méret finished in 11th place.
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©Laurent Méret
“Above all, I want to succeed in finishing the main event of the 1000 meters. It requires finishing within the allotted time of 25 minutes; knowing that the water temperature will be 3.6°C in it will be hard“, acknowledges Laurent Méret.
Hairdresser by profession, Laurent Méret became vice-champion of France in the 4 x 250 meter relay in Megève at the beginning of December. A meteoric rise for the native of Lille who discovered this sport in 2014.
After half an hour of training, blood circulation is slowed down to preserve vital organs, so when you get out of the water, what is called the “effect” begins.After fall“.
“To allow blood to circulate normally in the upper and lower limbs, the body will cause tremors which will accelerate blood circulation. As far as I’m concerned, when I get out of the water, I’m shaking for two to three hours“, explains the swimmer in icy water.
Considered by some as a physical and mental therapy, swimming in icy water is finding more and more followers in France. But beware, it is strongly advised not to jump into the water without having followed a long preparation beforehand. You have been warned!