Two ‘half of mad’ Limerick dads are too courageous in freezing temperatures in a Russian lake with the wish of earning a top region at the impending ice swimming World Championships, run by the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA). Brave Mark Dempsey (43) and John Ryan (50) fly to the Arctic Circle on Tuesday for the knee-knocking assignment to see them compete in opposition to a hundred and eighty others in a grueling 1km race. Wearing only their goggles, caps, and togs, the shivering participants will courageous minus 20 diploma air temperatures, in addition to the zero-diploma Celsius temperatures of Lake Semyonovskoe, placed on the Kola Peninsula, north Murmansk, sporting handiest their goggles, caps, and togs.
The championships take area March 14-18 in a place domestic to walruses, where hardy locals swear through the health advantages of regular bathing in its icy waters. “It’s 22 miles in the Arctic Circle. The air temperature can be minus 20, and the water may be zero stages, and we ought to swim one kilometer in only our swimming togs and our goggles,” explains Dempsey, a father of Garryowen. “No wet suits allowed,” he apprehensively provides. Both, who are members of Limerick Masters swimming membership, agree to be “half-mad,” but there’s “some amusement in it,” too, they laughed.
Dempsey has additionally competed for Ireland in two World Triathlon Championships, in Switzerland (2006) and Hamburg (2007), and was an “assistant” to former Athletics Ireland staying power train Chris Jones. While competing in a global ice swim held at Clontarf Baths during the remaining month, in temperatures of 1.9 degrees Celsius, Dempsey’s frame became “black and blue” due to the cold conditions. “When you hit the water, your frame contracts, and you’re looking to stretch out because you’re looking to swim. So, my muscle groups were being pulled apart even as they were seeking to agree on equal time; I could not be touched for three or four days afterward because I became so sore.
On top of his grueling schooling regime, he also sticks to a stunning weight-reduction plan, incorporating a pint or two “as part of my schooling.” “I do not consume cake. I’m now not into chocolate. I struggle to put on weight because I’m so active. After a cold swim, I’ll go home and have four sausages, four rashers, four eggs, four slices of bread, and a cup of espresso, and that’s to combat off the bloodless,” he provides. Dempsey and Ryan tour Russia as a part of a 20-strong Irish team that includes athletes, trainers, and family.
They admit they haven’t begun to swim in zero-degree temperatures, which can lead to a sudden onset of hypothermia. However, no matter the dangers involved, each was confident that, having spent the past seven months of education in gradually colder waters around Ireland, they’ve “acclimatized” their bodies for what lies ahead. They have also regularly been joined on education periods through the previous Shannon, Munster, and Ireland rugby player Rosie Foley, a sister of the late Munster and Irish rugby famous person Anthony Foley, giving them an added self-assurance increase.
Ryan, a father of 3 from Granville Park, says: “Initially, you do get bloodless water shock, but you acclimatize your frame to it, you simply get on with it.” “I, in reality, pass very purple myself. Afterward, I try and get dry as fast as possible. There’s a chunk of madness approximately it, but it’s desirable fun, and it’s a good revel in.” “We’re now not the best swimmers within the international; however, to represent your u. S . Is a very proud issue to do,” he provides.
