Colin Hill at the Winter Swimming World Championships
Our resident cold water swimming specialist Colin Hill brought home three medals from the recent Winter Swimming World Championships held in Tallinn, Estonia.
The icy waters of the Baltic Sea (a chilling 1°C) played host to over 1300 participants from 40 nations between 4 and 10 March 2024. Despite the freezing conditions and no wetsuits allowed, Colin proved once again his endurance and skill claiming silver medals in both the 200m and 400m freestyle races, and a well deserved bronze in the 100m freestyle.
These competitions push swimmers to their limits. The challenges include no diving starts, no tumble turns, and of course, the frigid water temperature.
"The longer the swim, the better I tend to do," says Colin, reflecting on his performance. "The 450m was my strongest event, finishing in a solid 5 minutes and 55 seconds." Colin knows all the international swimmers and has noticed the growing competition for each world competition. 'The 200m race was brutal, it was late on the first day of competition and the sun had begun to set, the freezing wind meant lots of swimmers found the conditions challenging.'
Colin wasn't done there. He and his daughter, Indus, even contributed to a world record for the longest winter swim relay. A staggering 807 swimmers participated, smashing the previous record of 550. "Our swim was past midnight, but they had cool LED lights underwater as lane markers," Colin recalls. "It was an incredible and fun experience!"
Beyond his impressive swimming feats, Colin also holds the position of Vice Chairman for the International Winter Swimming Association. At the event, he proudly announced that the next World Winter Swimming Championships will be held in Oulo, Finland, in 2026. Good luck Colin!
Find out more about cold water swimming with Colin Hill
Wild Swim Camp
May, June, September and November
Join our three day wild swim camp led by swim coach Colin Hill.
