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In driving snow,
with air temperatures around freezing and water temperatures
around 4 degrees Celsius, men and women competed in several
disciplines such as breast stroke and freestyle in a 50 m course
off the town of Prien.
The lake is known for its beautiful scenery and for a palace on
one of its islands. Begun but never completed by Ludwig II of
Bavaria, the palace was meant to the king's own Versailles, but
he stayed only a few nights at the palace before his premature
death in 1886.
Competitor Mirko Roever told Reuters TV he enjoyed the
challenge.
"Ice swimming is one of those things where you ask yourself: Why
are you doing this? Well, for the health, the stamina," Roever
said.
"And it requires a bit of willpower. That is very important. To
overcome your 'weaker self' and be able to say that you did it.
That is the great thing about it," he added.
Ice or winter dips are common in Scandinavian and Baltic
countries, where swimmers will take to saunas afterwards to warm
up.
(Reporting by Ute Swart, Reuters TV; Writing by Michael
Nienaber; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
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