‘It’s understandable they say I’m strange’: Hong Kong’s top ice swimmer explains why he loves the cold so much
- Mak Chun-kong, who is from Hong Kong, lives in the Czech Republic and competes regularly in ice swimming
- The 32-year-old says he loves the rush of dopamine from swimming in freezing temperatures
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.