10 swimmers swam 600 km from Dudinka to Dixon, following a veteran’s advice to breathe like a "donkey" – "hee-haw," and made it into the Guinness World Records.
From August 21 to August 27, the cold-water swim "Arctic Frontier 'Dudinka – Port 'Bay North' – Dixon – 600 km" on the Yenisei River, organized by the Interregional Association of Cold-Water Swimming of Russia, took place in honor of the defense of Dixon, the 90th anniversary of the Northern Sea Route, and the 130th anniversary of Ivan Papanin's birth.
In previous years, swimmers covered sections of the route from Krasnoyarsk to the village of Bor, and then from there to Dudinka; now, from August 21 to 27, they overcame a 600 km route from Dudinka to Dixon: marathon participants swam 50-60 km a day, taking turns.
A new world record was set, which will be entered into the Guinness World Records.
The extreme swim featured top athletes from various cities and regions of the country, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Anapa, Krasnoyarsk, Ulyanovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Novomichurinsk, and Novy Urengoy, as reported (and shown in a video segment) by "Vesti-Krasnoyarsk."
The youngest participant, Svyatogor Bornobaev from Novy Urengoy in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, is 20 years old, while the oldest, Nina Yermilova, is 80. Yermilova, a veteran winter swimmer, ultramarathoner, and champion of the world and Russia, who continues to set records, shared her secret on how to calm the nervous system and regulate breathing rhythm in cold water, where the body experiences stress: "It’s very simple – breathe like a 'donkey' – that is, breathe 'hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw.' When I enter the water, I start breathing this way. Once the body adapts a little, I calm down."
After the swim, the athletes were transported by ship to Norilsk.