Fear, not other people, says Chilean Barbara Hernandez, who became the first person to swim 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) in the near-freezing Antarctic Ocean.
On February 5, the 37-year-old performed the feat in 45 minutes and 30 seconds while wearing a standard bikini, goggles, a swimming helmet, and earplugs.
Perseverance was her only defense against a cold that might have killed many others. The temperature of the water was just two degrees Celsius (35. (Valium) 6 Fahrenheit).
“My biggest rival is fear… not (other) people,” Hernandez told AFP after achieving the glacial feat, which the International Winter Swimming Association recognized as a first. She hopes it will also be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.
“Fear of failure, of failing the people who trust in me, those are my main adversaries,” said the Chilean swimmer nicknamed ‘The Ice Mermaid’.
Hernandez described her mind-body struggle in finishing the trip, which was around the length of 25 football fields and began on a Chilean Navy ship near Greenwich Island in Antarctica.
“I felt something cold passing through my heart,” she reported shortly after halfway, a known indicator of hypothermia setting in, with the risk of heart attack and death.
Hernandez did what she knew best: she kept kicking and wading until she reached her goal: a buoy in the middle of the ocean.
“It was a super difficult swim, tough,” Hernandez told AFP.
“After completing the first mile I felt that I would never reach the buoy… I felt… my arms getting heavier and heavier,” she said. “But I did not concentrate on that.”
Antarctica is melting
Hernandez stated that she had wished for this moment for a decade. However, it is not just about pushing herself. She also uses her public platform to advocate for marine conservation.
“What scares me is that Antarctica keeps melting. That really scares me,” she said.
“When I was swimming, that was one of the things I was thinking about. My legs hurt, but I felt strong. I thought: This is not just for me, it is the cause we wanted to make visible. That gives you a boost.”
The National Snow and Ice Data Center in the United States stated this week that the area of the Antarctic Ocean covered by ice had fallen to a record low.
Hernandez was grabbed from the frigid seas and brought to the Janequeo navy ship’s onboard clinic after finishing her swim.
Her body temperature had dropped to 27 degrees Celsius by the time she arrived, well below the average of 37 degrees Celsius for a healthy individual.
She never passed out, though she did ramble incoherently for a while. Hernandez recalled that she was back to her former self in two hours.
Her next task will be the Oceans Seven marathon, which entails swimming through seven channels or straits around the world, culminating in August in Japan.
