Kiwi’s at the IISA World Champs

IISA 5 th World Championships 12 th – 15 th Jan 2023; Samoens, French Alps.

The following are the outstanding results achieved by our Team attending their 1st
International Event. As a Country we far exceeded expectations with a relatively small
Team travelling the furthest to get there from mid-summer temperatures ‘Down-Under’.

Congratulations to all involved in Flying our Flag so high !!!
New Zealand  10 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze     Mexico 1 Bronze
7 th  Country in Gold Medal count – 46 countries competing (Over 450 Swimmers).
6 Age Group World Records (WR) achieved across 5 disciplines.
8 th Country in the 4 X 250m F/S relay.

Individual Results (unless specified all are Age Group rankings).

Omar Vaquero; 50-54yr male
2 nd  1000m Free
2 nd  50 Fly

Rachel Armstrong; 40-44yr female
1 st 1000m Free
1 st  100 Back; New WR
2 nd  500 Free
3 rd  100 IM

Charlotte Byrnn; 55-59 yr
1 st  1000m Free
1 st  500m Free; New WR
1 st  250 Free; New WR

Susan Sherwen; 60-64 yr female
2 nd  100 Back
3 rd  1000m Free

Selina Cockx; 45-49 yr female
1 st   100m Free
1 st  250m Free; New WR
1 st  500m Free

Hannah Drury; 45-49yr female
1 st   100m Fly; New WR
1 st   100m Medley; New WR

Quinn Boyle; 18-24 yr male
4 th  500 Free – 8 th  overall Male
4 th  250 Free – 5 th  overall Male
6 th  100 Free – 11 th  overall male
4 th  50 Free – 12 th  overall male

David Coleman; 65-69yr male
5 th 1000m Free

Alicia Lopez Negrete-Garcia; 50—54 yr female
Lives in Wellington; Citizen of Mexico
3 rd  100 Free
6 th 500m Free
7 th 1000m Free

Wei Ping Chew; 35 – 39yr female
Lives in Christchurch; Citizen of Malaysia
4 th 50m Back
7 th 250m Free

THE TEAM

10 swimmers all up.
Also travelling with the Team; 7 support crew including our medic, Dianne Rankin who
joined the officiating World Champs Medical Team.
Short video clips from some team members
https://www.iceswimming.co.nz/2022/09/12/samoensfrance2023/

Swimmer Bio’s

Susan Sherwen (62) Mother of 4, Grandma of 8, lives in Auckland
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=2991
https://www.magzter.com/stories/Womens-Interest/New-Zealand-Womans-Weekly/Going-
the-distance-SUSAN-SWIMS-into-the-record-books
NZ representative swimmer as a teenager, then had a long time with no swimming raising
kids etc
2006 started ocean swimming with her children
In March 2022 she became one of only 14 people to have completed the NZ Triple Crown of
Ultra Marathon Swimming (Taupo, Cook, Foveaux)
Lake Taupo (40.2km) 14hrs 40min March 2020
Cook Strait (26km) 9hrs 56min April 2021
Foveaux Strait (29.6km) 11hrs 59min March 2022
Susan completed her Ice Mile July 2021. She had organised a trip for a group of 12
swimmers, most of them were brand new to Ice Swimming. All of the swimmers did a 500m
on the first day then 1000m on the second and those who had completed the 1000m
attempted the mile on the 3 rd  day
6 of the 12 swimmers achieved all three swims. A monumental achievement, as Ice
Swimming is not like swimming in the pool where you can easily do several events.
Swimming in under 5 degrees takes a lot out of you.
At the NZ Ice Swimming Champs in Alexandra in July 2022, she broke World Ice swimming
Age Group Records in the 1000m and 500m Freestyle
Events at World Champs, Samoens.
1000m Freestyle, 500m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 4 x 50 Medley relay 

Selina Cockx (48) lives in Samoens, France
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3870
French Ice swimming Champion in 200m Freestyle 2019
Thrilled to be representing NZ in her now hometown of Samoens, French Alps.
Events at World Champs.
500m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 4 x 50m Freestyle relay

Hannah Drury (44) lives in Rolleston, Christchurch
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3801
Lake Taupo (40.2km) Jan 2018 14hrs 19min
Events at World Champs
100m Butterfly, 100 Individual Medley, 4 x 50 Freestyle relay, 4 x 50 Medley relay, 4 x 250
Freestyle relay

Rachel Armstrong (39) lives in Wanaka
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3824
Events at World Champs
1000m Freestyle, 500m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 100 Individual Medley, 4 x 50 Freestyle
relay, 4 x 250 Freestyle relay

David Coleman (65) lives in Northamptonshire, UK & manages the Castle Ashby Lake for
Swimmers.
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=1006
Events at World Champs
1000m Freestyle
David has completed 5 Ice Miles (including an Extreme Ice Mile = 2C or below) and has been NZ’s lone representative at previous IISA World Champs, plus completing numerous marathon and ultra marathon swims as per his web page http://www.davidcolemanswims.com/davids-swims/

Omar Vaquero (51)
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3857
Events at World Champs
1000m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly, 50m Butterfly, 4 x 50 Medley relay, 4 x
250 Freestyle relay
Omar swam Cook Strait in 2022.

Quinn Boyle (17)
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3830
Hamilton Boys High School student
Lake Taupo (40.2km) Jan 2021 13hrs 46min
Events at World Champs
500m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle, 4 x 50 Freestyle relay, 4 x
50 Medley relay, 4 x 250 Freestyle relay

Charlotte Byrne (56) lives in Vermont, USA
Events at World Champs
1000m Freestyle, 500m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle
First NZer to complete an “Ice Mile” in 2013
She has done a large number of Marathon (10km +) Swims: Lake George Marathon Swim ,
Atlantic City Around the Island Marathon Swim, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, Catalina
Channel, Length of the Lake Memphremagog South to North, Length of the Lake
Memphremagog North to South,  Lake Champlain Double Crossing, Skinner Island Double
Crossing, Lake Willoughby Triple Crossing, Lake Willoughby Double Crossing,3 x Lake
Massawippi Double Crossing, Ile Ronde Circumnavigation, Ile Long Balance Rock Crossing,
 Boston Light Swim, Alligator Light House Swim, Bridges to Bluffs Swim, Swim Around
Charleston, 15 Mile Border Buster, 15 Mile Border Bumper

Alicia Lopez Negrete-Garcia (51) – New Zealand resident representing her home country of
Mexico, lives in Wellington
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3822
Events at World Champs
1000m Freestyle, 500m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle

Wei Ping Chew (38) – New Zealand resident representing her home country of Malaysia –
lives in Christchurch
https://internationaliceswimming.com/member-bio/?user=3797
Events at World Champs
100m Freestyle, 250m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 100m Breaststroke

Team Medic;   Dianne Rankin
https://www.iceswimming.co.nz/2022/09/10/dianne-rankin/
We were really pleased to have Di as part of our support team in Samoens. Not only did she ensure
the NZ team’s safety, her paramedic skills, practical trauma experience and level headedness was
quickly recognised by the International Medical team at Samoens.
The French Federation Doctor valued Di’s contribution to the International Medical team at
Samoens, frequently seeking her second opinion on technical medical matters like Competitors
ECG’s etc.
“It was extremely reassuring that the Ice Swimming support procedures and clinical standards that
NZ has developed and adopted are well on par with international standards.”

Other background information
Travelled the furthest (over 18,000km) to the Event from mid-summer water temperatures above 20C to swimming in alpine lake water of 3-4C degrees.
The Team struggled to get time in cold water for training, so several members spent time in freezers to get used to the cold during summer. They then travelled early to England to train at Falcon Lake in the Castle Ashby Estate. Swimmers had 5 days swimming in temperatures close to 5 degrees. Thanks to Lord Ashby and David Coleman for facilitating plus ensuring the safety of the Team at Falcon Lake.
Big shout out to the Members of the Falcon Open water community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefalconopenwaterswimming ) who opened their homes to a bunch of strangers from NZ. They were amazing taking us to the Lake each day and showing us the sights of Northamptonshire and beyond. A few even got to go aboard a narrow canal houseboat and work the locks in a canal !
Youngest in Team, 17-year-old Quinn Boyle, competing in the 18-24 yr age as he turns 18 in the year of the Champs, 2023.
Oldest male, David Coleman age 65yrs
Oldest female, Susan Sherwen turned 62yrs on the first day of competition.
A diverse team swimming for NZ including residents from Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Wanaka, Christchurch, Vermont USA, England and Samoens, France.
Wei Ping from Malaysia and Alicia from Mexico travelled with the team as they reside in NZ.
Team logo is rep of a swimmer swimming in Southern Alps. Our Team Kit/Beanies were amongst the most widely recognised & acknowledged by all at Samoens too.

We are indebted for the assistance provided by our Sponsor – SWIM T3
Further images on our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/371318938273097

Following our very successful IISA NZ inaugural Ice Swimming Pool Championships (July) in Alexandra, a IISA NZ Team was selected to compete at the 2023 IISA World Ice Swimming Championships in Sameons – France, in January 2023. This is really exciting for us as until the Alexandra Pool Champs we didn’t appreciate that we’d have our swimmers holding various Age Group World Records in every distance over 100m, 250m, 500m & 1000m!! Our IISA NZ Team will have swimmers competing competitively in every Freestyle Event at the World Champs in January, which we are very proud of!
The IISA Aotearoa New Zealand Ice Swimming Incorporated Society (IISA NZ) is affiliated with the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA). This body (IISA) was formed in 2009 with a vision to make swimming in icy waters a new sport. Ice Swimming is an extreme sport with a clear set of safety and integrity rules where the term “Ice Swimming” was first coined. This is swimming in a water temperature of 5.0 O C or lower, unassisted, wearing one standard swimming costume, one pair of goggles, and one standard swimming silicon cap. IISA first introduced the term “Ice Mile” as its ultimate achievement, a swim of 1.609 kilometres. 
IISA events now cover all Ice Swimming distances from 50m to 1000m and the Ice Mile in a variety of strokes for men, women, and disabled categories. The Association holds open and age groups competition in these categories. Subsequently, Ice Swim Events are now held in 46 affiliated countries (including NZ) worldwide with individual membership in 73 countries around the world. Our “motto” is Safety and Integrity in the ICE. We follow IISA rules and safety protocols for our Events that include pool and open water (Lake Venues) ice swimming. Unusually for such a sporting body, there are no Membership Fees to belong. This allows a wide cross-section of enthusiasts to join no matter their circumstances. Just acclimatisation and following safety protocols are necessary. Ice swimming is also being considered for the Winter Olympics as a new sport.
The purpose of IISA NZ is to encourage and promote safe ICE Swimming in New Zealand and to facilitate interaction between participants in areas of common concern and enjoyment.
To this end IISA NZ carries out the following;

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