Taking cold showers, sitting in ice baths, and plunging into freezing lakes have paid off for Northland’s extreme ice swimmer Emilia Finer.

The 20-year-old recently returned from the International Ice Swimming Association’s sixth World Championships in Italy with a haul of gold and silver medals.

Finer was part of the New Zealand Frozen Ferns team competing at the event held at Lake Molveno from January 13 to 19.

Finer’s medals include:

• 500m freestyle: Gold for her age group and new age group world record of 6:18.08, and overall silver.
• 250m freestyle: Gold for her age group and overall silver.
• 200m individual medley: Gold for her age group and a new open world record of 2:38.55 and overall gold.
• 100m butterfly: Gold for her age group.
• 100m butterfly: Overall gold.

Finer said the event was “really cool”.

“It was a great experience getting to race at that competition ... it was a beautiful location, and the racing was very cool with so many people from all around the world.”

Hundreds of swimmers from 35 countries braved the icy conditions during multiple races in Molveno in Northern Italy.

Emilia Finer with a chunk of ice carved from the swimming pool competitors had to plunge into.

The Frozen Ferns team, comprised of 14 New Zealand swimmers and two medics, came fourth overall.

Finer, a former Kerikeri resident, said it was so cold, event staff had to break a thick layer of ice off the frozen pool with pick axes before swimmers could dive in.

Temperatures ranged from just 0.7C to just over 2C, she said.

“Before the competition started the pool was covered in a layer of ice and they had to chip through it to clear the pool.

“Some pieces were up to 10cm thick.”

Ice swimming involves swimming in water of temperatures below 5C unassisted and with only a standard swimsuit, silicone cap, and pair of goggles.

Wetsuits and other swim aids are not permitted.

Emilia Finer won two gold medals for 100m butterfly, along with gold for freestyle and individual medley events.

The discipline has become increasingly popular around the world and offers unique health benefits, including the release of endorphins, increased blood circulation, and a boost in body temperature.

Finer said immediately after a swim, competitors have to quickly remove their swimwear, don layers of warm clothes, and warm themselves with hot water bottles and heaters “until the shivering subsides”.

“It’s definitely a shock to the system, and very cold when you get out.

“Sometimes I wonder why put myself through it - but it’s a good challenge.”

Finer is a competitive pool and open-water swimmer who has represented the Bay of Islands, Bream Bay, and Dargaville swimming clubs while living in Northland.

She now swims for Neptune Swim Club and Swim Dunedin, coached by Lars Humer, after moving south in 2022 to study for a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree at the University of Otago.

Finer’s next major competition is the New Zealand Swimming Championships, which is a “normal pool event” followed by the ice swimming championships in Saint Bathans, Otago in July.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.