Penrith swimmer braves freezing conditions to win world championship medals

Colin Hill with his medals (Image: Supplied)

A talented swimmer from Penrith has brought three medals home from the winter swimming world championships in Eastern Europe.

The one-degree water of the Baltic was the setting for the 14th bi-annual Winter Swimming World Swimming Championship held in Tallinn, Estonia.

More than 1300 participants and 40 nationalities took part in this five-day event.

A 25m swimming pool is created in the Baltic waters of the Tallin marina and no wetsuits are allowed in the freezing weather conditions.  Races take place from 25 meters through to 450 meters.

News and Star: Colin coming out of the freezing water

Colin coming out of the freezing water (Image: Supplied)Although Penrith swimmer Colin Hill, 53, couldn’t hold onto his World Championship title, he managed to increase his medal haul from one to three, with Silver both the 200m and 400m freestyle and bronze in the 100 m freestyle.

Other rules due to the cold waters include no dive starts and no tumble turns, no gloves, boots or wetsuits allowed.

“Generally, the longer the distance the better for me, so the 450m swim was my strongest, finishing the 450m race in 5 min and 55 seconds,” said Colin.

News and Star: Colin at the event

Colin at the event (Image: Supplied)“The competition seems to get stronger each world championship.

“I know most of the international swimmers, so it’s good getting to race each other at these major competitions.

“The 200m race was brutal, it was late on the first day of competition and the sun had set and there was a strong freezing wind, I think a lot of swimmers struggled in the conditions, but it helped me focus on my game plan for the longer swim.”

Colin and his daughter Indus were also part of a world record for the longest winter swim relay swim with 807 swimmers taking part, breaking the previous record of 550.

News and Star: Colin and his daughter, Indus

Colin and his daughter, Indus (Image: Supplied)“Our swim was after midnight, but they had LED nights under the water as lane markers, so the who experience was amazing fun,” said Colin.

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Colin is also vice chairman of the International Winter Swimming Association was able to announce at the event that the next world winter swimming championships will be held in Oulo, Finland in 2026.