Russians seek health, highs in ice swimming
DI V ING into a long hole cut in t he ice, Viktoria Tsuranova swims a few strokes a nd f la shes a smi le at t he photographer capturing t he moment for her Instag ra m account.
She is one of a new generation of Russian “Walruses” – hardy swimmers who plunge into frozen rivers and lakes all through the winter.
They swear it wards off not just colds but also cellulite, as well as giv ing them a rush of euphoria.
Ice swimming in Russia has long been a ssociated w it h older, usua l ly Speedo-clad men.
But Tsu ra nova a nd ot her members of Moscow’s “Walruses of t he Capita l” club are g iv i ng it a fashionable new image.
“A sport y way of life is right on trend now,” says Nikolai, d r i n k i ng roseh ip tea w it h honey in a grey onesie.
He has just ta ken a dip in t he L-shaped st r ip of water cut by the bank of the Moskva River, in t he relatively balmy air temperature of minus two degrees Celsius.
“There’s a kind of new wave of young people coming up now, following the generation t hat set t he standard for walr us sw i mming – t he older generation.”
Tsura nova, a f it ness blogger, later posts a v ideo a nd photo of her sw i m on her Instagram, which has 103,000 followers.
Shivering a little in a fur coat after her swim, she says: “I’m just interested in the extreme, in testing myself. I’m scared ever y time.”
She says she hasn’t been ill once over t he winter.
“It’s a great way to prevent excess fat deposits a nd cellulite,” Tsuranova adds.
Others are more equivocal on t he hea lt h ef fect s of ice swimming, defined as taking a dip in water temperatures of zero to four degrees C.
Russia’s winter swimming federation, based in the Siberian cit y of Tyumen, lists joint health and good skin among t he benefits.
Potential dangers
But it a lso warns t hat t hose with weak hearts or breathing problems should not attempt it.
A separate study by Tyumen scientists in 2015 found t hat the cold temperature caused stress on the body for people who swam in ice over a period longer than 10 years.
Ice swimming is a lso pract i s e d i n Sc a nd i nav ia a nd China, t hough it is par t icularly popular in Russia, where cold water is seen as a way to toughen people up.
Millions of Orthodox believers in the countr y plunge into icy pools ever y Epiphany as part of a religious tradition.
The faci l it ies at t he “Walruses of t he Capita l” club are minima l – a g reen-pa i nted hut with tiny changing rooms heated by stoves.
Depending on their experience, ice swimmers tend to stay in the water for anything from one to around five minutes. But the club is not just an amateur organisation – it also trains swimmers to take part in international competitions held outdoors in winter.
The club’s sta r sw i mmer Osman Delibash, 26, t ra ins regularly and recently made a video showing her sitting for a n hour i n t he f rozen-over pond in her garden.
This set a record recognised by a Russian association for t he longest stint in cold water by a woman.
She has a lso won a string of meda ls for sw i mming d istances of up to a k ilometre in sub-zero air temperatures.
Delibash, who a lso teaches soldiers ser v ing in extra-cold env ironments and performs a s a st u nt woma n, wa l k s around in the snow bare-legged in a bathrobe.
“Water is my element – specif ica lly icy water,” she says.
Euphoria
The club’s founder and Deli b a s h’s t r a i n e r, Na t a l y a Seraya, gives out certif icates to a group of new “walruses” a s t hey c rowd i n side t he steaming hut.
Seraya, who has set Russian re c ord s for ma r at hon ic e swims, tells them: “Nothing w i l l boost you r i mmunit y mor e s t r on g l y t h a n i c y water.”
“This is t he pat h to healt h and long years of active life.”
However, as part of her postgraduate studies, she is also researching, with the help of some of the club’s ice swimmers, where the limits in its benefits lie.
“What’s good for you, what’s dangerous, where is the dividi n g l i n e ? ” S e r a y a s a y s , describing the outlines of her research into the effects of ice swimming.
Swimmers a lso ta lk about ex per ienci ng psycholog ica l benefits from dips.
“T her e’s some k i nd of cleansing, as if you reset yourself back to zero,” said f irsttime swimmer Tatiana Batalova, while blogger Tsuranova says she feels a “hig h” on emerging.
“When you come out of the water you feel warm and joyf ul like you’re on wings. You could even ca ll it euphoria,” says Seraya.