- Who
- Jaimie Monahan
- What
- first
- Where
- Argentina (Ushuaia)
- When
On 2 July 2017, ultramarathon and ice swimmer Jaimie Monahan (USA, b. 11 August 1979), became the first person to complete the Ice Sevens Challenge, when she swam her seventh ice mile in 29 minutes 5 seconds in 4.76°C water (5.9°C air) under standard ice swimming rules (i.e., no wetsuit and no neoprene hat) in the Beagle Channel, near Ushuaia, Argentina - her South American ice mile.
Jamie had previously swum six ice miles in five continents and in the Arctic Circle - in chronological order: in Europe (2 April 2016, in the sea off Reykjavík, Iceland, in 3.70°C water, in exactly 35 minutes), in Asia (18 December 2016, in an ice pool cut into a frozen lake in Tyumen, Russia in -0.03°C water, in 30 minutes 20 seconds), in Africa (13 February 2017, in the mountain Aguelmame Sidi Ali Lake, Morocco, in 4.9°C water, in 32 minutes 18 seconds), within the Arctic Circle (4 March 2017, in the sea off Mikkelvik Brygge, Karlsøy, Norway, in 2.37°C water, in 32 minutes 9 seconds), in North America (9 March 2017 in the sea off M Street Beach, Boston, USA, in 4.63°C water, in 26 minutes 16 seconds), and in Oceania (15 May 2017, in the glacier Tasman Lake, Aoraki Mt. Cook, New Zealand, in 2.37°C water, in 26 minutes 44 seconds).
The Ice Sevens Challenge swims must be ratified or recognized by the International Ice Swimming Association.
The Ice Sevens Challenge (or Ice Sevens) is based on the concept of the Seven Summits and Oceans Seven and was conceived and developed by Ger Kennedy and Steven Munatones, around 2016, with the support of and governance by the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA). The swimmer must complete an ice mile (an officially recognized non-wetsuit ice swim by a solo individual held in water 5ºC / 41ºF or less) under standard ice swimming rules (i.e., no wetsuit and no neoprene hat) in Europe, Oceania, Asia, North America, Africa, South America and at any Polar location at 60º south or below or 70º north or above. One of the seven Ice Miles must be a documented Zero Ice Mile (defined as a solo mile swim performed at below 1ºC). The swims must be ratified or recognized by the International Ice Swimming Association.
