It's not for the faint hearted - but 10 brave New Zealanders have collected 16 medals at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Samoens, in the French Alps, where the water temperature averaged a chilly three to four degrees Celsius.
The haul includes 10 gold medals for the New Zealand team, who travelled some 18,000 kilometres to compete at the event.
The team placed ninth overall, out of 50 countries, with over 400 swimmers competing.
New Zealand's swimmers ranged from 17-year-old Hamilton Boys' High School student Quinn Boyle, to former New Zealand representative swimmer and grandmother of eight, 62-year-old Susan Sherwen.
With New Zealand's summer water temperature nowhere near cold enough (water must be under 5 degrees Celsius for it to be considered "ice swimming"), athletes got creative with how to train.
"The team struggled to get time in cold water to prepare, so several members spent time in freezers to get used to the cold," Sherwen said.
At the venue, ice would have to be cleared from the lanes before the swimming commenced, ranging from a 50m medley to 1000m races.
Ice swimming is an extreme sport that requires an athlete to be swimming in a water temperature of 5degC or lower, unassisted, wearing one standard swimming costume, one pair of goggles, and one standard swimming silicon cap.
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