PRAGUE (AP) – Czech cold-water swimmers set a new world record for the largest polar bear dip.
A total of 2,461 participants were involved in the successful attempt on the Most lake in northwest Czech Republic.
The previous record was 1,799 swimmers who participated in the polar bear dip in Mielno, Poland, on the Baltic Sea on February 15, 2015, according to Guinness World Records.
For the record to be recognised, the participants have to be wearing bathing suits, be at least waist-deep in water and stay there all together for at least one minute.
The temperature of the water during the record attempt was 3.5 degrees Celsius (°C). It has to be lower than 10°C.
“Czechs are a nation of polar swimmers,” said organiser of the event David Vencl.
Vencl, a freediver, himself set a world record four years ago in men’s swimming under ice when he swam a record distance of 80.9 metres.
