STORY: Christoph Strobl glides through the 4 degree cold water under the ice surface with only one flipper and swimming trunks, but without a neoprene suit. In doing so, he set a new world record: the Austrian dived 70 meters under the almost 13 centimeter thick layer of ice in the picturesque Weissensee. “It was incredibly cold. But the funny thing is that the cold didn’t really bother me that much, it was more the lack of oxygen and the panic that came with it. So not so much the cold.” In addition to Strobl, two-time Olympic champion Markus Rogan and 83-year-old former lawyer Michael Donaldson have also attempted a world record, but both failed. The three candidates are friends and all live in Los Angeles. All three of them have been training for this world record attempt for a long time. At the beginning of February 2023 the time had come. But now Strobl will continue his psychology studies. “Maybe I’ll come back and swim in a different category or maybe even extend my record. But I’m not sure yet, that’s one of my goals right now. What I really wanted to prove is that I can do it as someone who didn’t grow up in the loon community and was just getting started.” Incidentally, Strobl was the swimming teacher of 83-year-old Donaldson. Because he only learned to swim four years ago. So maybe there will be other special world record attempts by this special trio in the future.