66-year-old man becomes world’s oldest ice mile swimmer

DUBLIN: A 66-year-old man swam in freezing water for one mile to claim a Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest ice mile swimmer in Ireland.

According to the details, Ger Purcell, 66, broke the world record during the Ice Mile challenge at the Shannon Rowing Club in Limerick. He finished his swim in 43 minutes, 28 seconds. Guinness confirmed the feat made him the world’s oldest ice mile swimmer.

Purcell maintained that he trained for several months to swim in frigid waters, United Press International reported.

Guinness rules stated the swim had to be done continuously without any breaks and the water temperature had to be verified as below 23 degrees.