The European Ice Water Swimming Championships will be held for the first time in Oradea. The competition will take place from 1 to 4 February in the Olympic Outdoor Pool in Brătianu Park. 320 participants from 27 countries, including legends of this extreme sport, will compete in water temperatures below 5 degrees C. Romania has a field of 34 professional and amateur swimmers. The Romanian Team is coordinated by Paul Georgescu, world champion in this sport, in the 500m event, who has contributed decisively to the growth of this sport in Romania.

The first ever European Ice Swimming Championship is organized by IISA (International Ice Swimming Association), the Ice Swimming and Open Water Sports Association, in partnership with the Municipality of Oradea, the Association for the Promotion of Tourism in Oradea and Region (Visit Oradea) and CSM Oradea. The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of 1 February, with the parade of delegations from the 27 participating countries.

“We want this major sporting event to be a real spectacle and we expect as many people as possible to come to the pool to get acquainted with the beauty of this extreme sport that demands a lot of you. Admission will be free. The competition will take place on 2, 3 and 4 February. The heats will take place in the morning from 9am to 1pm and the swimmers with the best 8 times will fight for the podium in the evening session from 4.30pm to 6pm. I expect the water temperature to be between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius. Athletes will have at their disposal, for recovery, 2 bathtubs and a sauna”, said Paul Georgescu, president of the Ice Swimming and Open Water Sports Association.

The European Championships in Ice Water Swimming will include classic swimming events, starting with the short 50m events in the four known procedures (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly), 100m in the four procedures, 250m freestyle, 500m freestyle and 1000m freestyle.

“Oradea is one of the most beautiful cities in Romania, and the infrastructure allows us to have perfect conditions: 2 large hotels and 1 boutique-hotel will host about 1000 people, including 320 swimmers. In terms of organization, the biggest advantage is the open-air pool, which is located at a very short distance from the indoor one, where we will organize the Ice Village, the place where competitors will prepare for the events”, added Paul Georgescu.

Romania has a competitive group of 34 professional swimmers (from Dinamo, Steaua, Delfinul Bucharest, Universitatea Cluj) and amateurs.

“I think we have a strong field in all styles and we aim to win more medals than at the World Championships in France last year (16 medals – 3 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze). Among the important swimmers are Andrei Enache, national champion in open water swimming and the experienced Dragoș Ghile, a former national champion, both coached by Adrian Rădulescu, who trains David Popovici”, Paul said.

The host city, Oradea, will also have a representative. Inspired by Paul Georgescu, Ovidiu Tirla is a former water polo player, now a swimming and water polo referee, who has already won 7 medals at the World Championships in Frozen Waters, 3 in Poland and 4 in France.

“I continue to swim in icy waters because I like it, because I feel very good doing this sport, and I even feel the beneficial effects on my health. I still feel challenged by the sport and as long as that desire continues to burn I’m going to get into the frozen water. All the more so because there is also the challenge of organizing the first edition of the European ICE Swimming Championships in the city where I live, where I work and it is a pride that we manage to bring to Oradea the most passionate athletes of this discipline” – Ovidiu Tirla

“Legends” of swimming in frozen waters present in Oradea

– Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria, 4 Olympic Games appearances, world and European champion in the 25km event, one of the most respected endurance swimmers in the world, with dozens of competition wins in open and frozen water.

– Christof Wandratsch, Germany, the first world champion in the history of ice swimming and European champion in the 25 km event, one of the fastest men in history to cross the English Channel: 7 hours and 3 minutes.

– Rotislav Vitek, Czech Republic, 17th place in the 10 km event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

– King and Queen of Ice: Marcin Szarpak, Poland and Alissa Fatum, Germany, champions of the 1,000m ice swimming event

Paul Georgescu’s performances in ice water swimming:

• the first man in the world to swim a “frozen mile” (1.6 km in water below 1 degree C) in Antarctica, at the South Polar Circle,
• the first Romanian to swim a frozen mile,
• gold medallist in the 500m event at the World Championships in Ice Water Swimming
• former world record holder for distance in freezing water: 3.5 km in 4.4 degree water.

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