Heidi, 16, and Sophie, 18, Winter carried back a New Zealand sporting first, gold medals and a world record from the 6th International Ice Swimming Association World Championships held in Italy earlier this month.
Heidi became New Zealand’s first ever open category winner when she brought home a gold medal in the 100m freestyle event and a world record in her age category.
Sophie won gold in the 100m breaststroke event.
Fellow Otago swimmer Emily Finer, of Dunedin, came second in the 250m freestyle event before going on to win gold and break the world record for the women’s 200m individual medley when she beat her previous world record time by two seconds.
The New Zealand team broke a total of five world records and won 35 medals, which placed them fourth behind the US, Germany and France.
Team manager Roger Soulsby said, in a statement, 752 swimmers from around the world participated in the event in Molveno, from January 13 to 19.
The 17-strong Frozen Ferns team, which consisted of swimmers aged between 16 and 70, was one of the smaller teams to compete in the five-day event, where they faced former Olympians and top ice swimmers, he said.
The team’s medical crew also sprang into action to help the event organisers as colder-than-expected water temperatures of 1°C to 2°C led to some swimmers struggling.
—APL
