Lake Constance: Extreme swimmer Bieber breaks ice mile record

Lake Constance
Extreme swimmer Bieber breaks ice mile record

Extreme swimmer Paul Bieber broke the German record for the most ice miles on Sunday in Lake Constance. For the sixth time, the 38-year-old swam at least one mile in water that was no more than five degrees cold, overtaking the previous record holder Bruno Dobelmann (five ice miles).

Bieber needed 36:03 minutes for the 1694 meter long distance in Wasserburg on Sunday. The average water temperature was a very fresh 4.2 degrees, with a cloudless sky and bright sunshine. As Bieber exited the water, he cheered and wrapped himself in a winter coat. He now has to warm up for about an hour, so he assumes.

“For me personally, this is the most important record because it simply requires the most effort,” said the extreme athlete. “You keep going to your limits, which is very challenging for the body and psyche.” In order to be able to swim four ice miles this winter, he gained twelve kilograms, among other things.

Extreme swimmer Bieber had already broken the German record in distance ice swimming last year with 2210 meters in Lake Constance. The Allgäu native is trained by world record holder Hamza Bakircioglu, who swam 3,450 meters in 2018 in the 4.1-degree cold Sonthofen quarry pond.

Bieber already has his sights set on the next records: Four ice miles within 24 hours would be a world record over the span of a day, 14 ice miles in total would be the world record for a single swimmer. “I’d be really interested in that,” Bieber said.

(NOTE: Correction to 02/13 story: Bieber’s ice mile swim time has been corrected. The extreme swimmer took 36 minutes and 3 seconds (36:03 minutes), not 36.03 minutes.)

dpa