#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. In Dudinka, a swim over several distances was held, in which both the activists of X-WATERS Yenisey 2023, as well as beginners and just everyone who decided to test themselves in the cold waters of the lower reaches of the Yenisey, took part. Last Saturday, athletes and enthusiasts of the X-WATERS movement took credit for conquering the most full-flowing Siberian river.
The organizers of extreme swims and the Norilsk Development Agency (NDA), when planning a large-scale event in Taimyr, until the last moment assumed really harsh conditions in which swimmers would have to work. The low water temperature in the river, strong wind and current were taken into account.
On the morning of the appointed day, athletes and participants went to the Yenisey, it was cloudy, gloomy and rainy. However, nature had mercy, and not just warm and clear weather, but real heat settled in Dudinka. By that time, the water surface temperature reached 15-18 degrees.
The heat in Dudinka drove many people to the Yenisey bank. In between swims, participants and guests began to undress, climb into the water right in their clothes, sunbathe and even settled down to sleep.
Everyone met the longest swim winners with admiring exclamations, cheering for short-distance swimmers and dancing at the concert of the hip-hop artist Zvonkiy and the RED O band.
“Today, everyone who came to support the athletes deserves a special greeting. For the first time in history, we are holding a mass swim in one of the largest rivers in the world, in its northernmost part, in the polar Yenisey.
For three years, during which the NDA organizes swims on the territory with the X-WATERS team, a serious sports team of swimmers has been formed here, which has long been out and winning outside of Taimyr and Norilsk”, the NDA director Maxim Mironov greeted the participants and guests.
Swimmers who applied for a swim in the Yenisey were offered a choice of three distances. The most serious swim was a three-kilometer swim from Kabatsky island, opposite Dudinka, to the venue of the holiday at the passenger pier.
Taking into account the current, it was necessary to move obliquely across the river from the southern tip of the island down to the passenger pier, where the finish line was located.
Two other distances – 500 and 100 meters – could be covered with relatively minimal physical effort and in close proximity to the coastline.
“We all need to carefully monitor our body state – consciousness loss symptoms, when you want to fall asleep, it gets dark in the eyes, there are gaps in time and loss of orientation. In this case, you can’t be a hero – you need to hug the buoy attached to each swimmer and raise your hand up so that the rescuers come”, said Alexander Bazanov, one of the ideological inspirers and founders of X-WATERS, during the briefing.
On the three-kilometer swim, there were those who still needed the rescuers’ help.
The strongest came to the finish line, among which there were the winners of previous races on high water, including last year on lake Lama.
Among the girls, the third place at a distance of three kilometers was taken by Victoria Kirillova with a result of 46 minutes 5 seconds, Veronika Ksenafontova became the second with a result of 43 minutes 36 seconds, the best time belongs to Anastasia Kryukova – 39 minutes 37 seconds.
Among the men from Kabatsky island, Nikolay Kartayev came third in 38 minutes 57 seconds, Alexander Tugay was second in 38 minutes 5 seconds, the fastest in this swim was Fedor Truhin, who arrived from the other side in 36 minutes 21 seconds.
“Thanks to all the participants and organizers of today’s swim, holiday and concert on the Yenisey banks. It was hot, but next year this outstanding action on the great river has to be repeated”, concluded Anastasia Korol, the NDA deputy director for tourism development.
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