‘It’s understandable they say I’m strange’: Hong Kong’s top ice swimmer explains why he loves the cold so much

Before Mak Chun-kong undertook his first ice swimming session in the Czech Republic over a year ago, he had a Skype session with his father in Hong Kong. Mak said the conversation didn’t go as planned.

“He told me, ‘Son, your body isn’t made for it. You were born in Hong Kong and not the Czech Republic.’”

Mak, who lives in the Czech Republic and works in IT, had the perfect rebuttal. “I told him, ‘Dad, it’s all about training.’”

Mak, 32, recently represented Hong Kong in the 3rd International Ice Swimming Association World Championships and 1st Arctic Cup in March, which took place in Murmansk, Russia, located within the Arctic Circle.

The competition had nine events and featured swimmers from 28 countries, and Mak came 21st in the 1,000-metre men’s freestyle, the top swimmer from Hong Kong and China, as well as winning a bronze medal in his age group (30-34). He also came fourth in the 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly.

The competition in Russia took place in temperatures just below zero and the water temperature was zero degrees Celsius, a requirement for the event. Organisers use chainsaws to cut a large rectangular hole in the ice and swimmers compete much like they would at a regular swim meet, except of course, that the water is really cold.

“It is understandable that they say I’m strange,” said Mak, who also holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Munster in Germany. “Not everyone wants to take on this kind of swimming challenge since not everyone loves swimming. And not everyone loves challenges. It is just me and my life philosophy.”

Mak, who has been swimming competitively in the pool and in open water since his childhood at Pok Oi Hospital Tang Pui King Memorial College in Yuen Long, said his first foray into ice swimming was rough.

“The first time I went, I screamed and finished after one minute,” he said. “But then next time, three minutes, five minutes, seven minutes. Then in February of 2019, I completed a British mile, which is 1,609 metres.”

While ice swimming has been a pastime in Nordic countries for thousands of years as a way to relieve stress and shock the body’s metabolism (which some claim is a good thing), the International Ice Swimming Association has been around since 2009.

The sport hinges around the “Ice Mile”, which is seen as the “ultimate achievement”. The current record-holder is Rostislav Vitek, who has a time of 20 minutes and 29 seconds.

Ice swimmers are only allowed to use goggles or earplugs, just one swimming cap and one normal swimsuit which does not go below the knees. Swimmers have medical check-ups before each race to ensure their body can handle the cold, and after each race strict protocol is followed.

Racers are dried off immediately, then covered in a parka jacket and taken directly to a heated room. They are draped in heated towels, and then the swimmers head for a sauna or hot tub session. There has been no reported deaths in ice swimming competitions.

When it comes to training, Mak said breathing and control of the mind is the key component, as well as a proper swimming cap, as most of the body’s heat is lost out of the skull. He also does yoga weekly and regular swimming in a pool.

Mak said he has fielded questions from perturbed people who think what he is doing is a little bonkers, given a regular person can die from hypothermia after only a few minutes in freezing water.

“Of course, some folks think that I like punishment or simply enjoy the pain. I admit that not everyone would like the coldness of it. At the beginning, I enjoy the dopamine rush after a swim. It was a natural drug to make me happy.

“Mainly, I want to prove that we have too many mental boundaries on ourselves. We can’t achieve this and that because of what others have told us. Ice swimming is just an activity which allows me to express my life philosophy: knowing no limits.”