(intense music)
- [Ram] Everyone says that I'm mad.
And they ask me that question, what draws me to the ice.
And what amazes me is how many people follow.
- [Announcer] High in the mountains of Southern Africa,
there are 15 fearless swimmers competing
in one of the most extreme races on Earth.
With no wetsuits, no protection, they must swim
a single kilometer in water cold enough to kill them.
They call it a race, but most would call it insanity.
As founder Ram Barkai will tell you,
the members of the International Ice Swimming Association
don't just battle to the finish,
they're fighting to stay alive.
(machine whirs)
(gentle music)
- Swimming cold water has become my passion.
Okay, we need another task force for these ones, eh?
The ice was the icing on the cake.
I find ice extreme.
I'm attracted to extreme challenges.
No doubt, swimming in ice is a dangerous sport.
- Go Ram! - Go Ram!
- [Ram] It's not adrenaline junkie,
polar bear type of experience.
You actually have to swim one kilometer
extremely fast in water under five degrees
in just Speedo, goggles and a cap.
These are the rules.
I founded the International Ice Swimming Association.
I'd love it to become a proper
internationally-recognized sport.
- It's a double hit, physiologically,
it’s an ice swim, which is challenging,
and you're at altitude.
Most of you have not been at altitude before.
- We were in Africa, in the mountain of Lesotho
and we found ice and we're having the national
South African ice championship.
- Nowhere in Southern Africa are you gonna find
water five degrees in the lakes, it's only here.
- [Ram] Last year, we had about 13
national championships like this.
We have now swimmers in 28 countries around the world.
- We're doing an ice swim in Africa,
which is a bit ridiculous if you ask anyone.
We also think it's ridiculous.
- It's a massive mental challenge to get in that water
and to perform physically for an extended period of time.
You keep going, takes a lot of mind power,
and that's what I love, I love pushing
the boundaries in these conditions.
- [Ram] It's not a sport where you have to
be lean, mean and beautiful to win.
You have to have around 20% body fat.
You have to be fit, you have to train
so your body and your mind know how to deal with the shock.
Panic is the number one killer.
- Initially, you can't tell if the water's
very hot or very cold, it almost burns.
The first three minutes is painful
and then you sort of settle in and everything goes numb.
- Their body temperature starts to drop.
Getting into this water poses the hazard
of hypothermia to the athlete.
- [Ram] It causes havoc in your body,
to your blood pressure, to your heart rate,
to your oxygen, to your brain.
- [Woman] There's only one thing that goes
through your mind: breathe.
The ice takes your breath away and if you don't
control it, you can get into a world of trouble.
- [Ram] The average time in the water is 15 to 20 minutes,
which is still safe.
It's a hugely mental sport.
For me, it's mind over matter.
- It's not you racing against someone else,
it's about you against the ice and the cold.
And basically competing against your own mind.
- Cold starts to affect the function of the nervous system
and so confusion, delirium sometimes happens.
The athletes can start to hallucinate
or they can have amnesia.
- If you feel dizzy and disorientated, you should get out.
It's such a hard decision to make,
you're so close to finish.
(gentle music)
(cheering)
- As you come out of the water, the brain starts
releasing blood from the core.
That process is what we call the after-drop.
In ten minutes, suddenly your core
body temperature can drop from 34 to 30.
And that causes a havoc.
If you haven't been there, it's a scary experience.
- There you go. - Good job.
- You're in the proper ICU, doctors in recovery unit
to make sure that no one goes over the edge.
It's literally like going up the roller coaster,
you know that feeling, slowly, slowly, slowly,
and suddenly you get there.
When you get there, you see people's eyes go like.
We call it the devil's look.
They know everything what's going on, they hear everything.
They just can't respond.
You are in like a massive sort of tunnel vision
focused on hanging in there.
- I feel the life going back into me.
I don't know if that's a good thing though.
- I'm starting to turn the corner,
so I'm feeling better about life, now I wanna live.
(laughs)
- After the dust has settled, you feel like a champion.
- Before they start swimming, everyone ask himself,
"Why am I doing this?
"What am I trying to prove to myself?"
Guys, well done to all of you.
I know it wasn't easy and I know that not everyone finished.
I think it's part of the process.
(cheering)
Then after I finish, I can't wait for the next adventure.
And I'm high for days.
My big dream is to get it to the Winter Olympic games
as a sport, it'll be my legacy.
The beauty of what we're doing here today
is to show that if there's a will, there's a way.