New Year's Eve swim

100 brave swimmers plunged into the icy Achensee

Lake Achensee is currently 5 degrees Celsius and the 50-metre swim required resistance to the cold and stamina.(Bild: Achensee Tourismus)

"Iceberg ahead!" was the motto yesterday for the participants of the New Year's Eve swim in Tyrol's largest body of water, Lake Achensee. Around 100 participants ended the old year in spectacular fashion and welcomed in the new one. 

This was the 22nd time that the ice-cold fun had been held and thrilled spectators with an entertaining combination of daring and humor. As every year, each "dive" began with a refreshing "shock cooling", in which the swimmers had a bucket of ice-cold water poured over them before plunging into the cool water and covering the 25 meters to an artificial iceberg floating in the water. Once there, they had to ring the New Year's Eve bell and then swim back to shore as quickly as possible.

Swimming trunks instead of ski suits was the motto of the participants in the New Year's Eve swim.(Bild: Achensee Tourismus)

Fierce competition, creative costumes, a cheerful audience
Almost 100 participants took on the challenges and the cold. With a water temperature of 5 degrees Celsius, a diving height of 3 meters and a total distance of 50 meters, the "Sport" category demanded cold resistance and stamina from the participants, who each competed in pairs.

The 22nd New Year's Eve swim at Lake Achensee attracted a large crowd of onlookers.(Bild: Achensee Tourismus)

Before jumping into the water, the swimmers were toughened up with a bucket of water.(Bild: Achensee Tourismus)

Heidelinde Partheymüller was the fastest female swimmer with a time of 1:13.10. Markus Dannemüller (00:58.92) was the first male swimmer to cross the finish line. Florian Gfrei again came closest to the average time of all participants (01:28:21) with his time of 01:27.98.

Prizes and awards for heroic efforts
The winners were rewarded with prize money. In addition to the sporting competitions, the special "Fun" category provided lively entertainment. Costumed participants and various groups with other cheerful and creative mottos presented funny outfits and ensured plenty of laughter and applause. The participants were awarded prizes for their "heroic efforts" and original costumes.