The Greek swimmer on icy routes

The sea defined his life, sculpted his existence, strengthened his will and stubbornness to survive in icy waters and extreme weather conditions. His lonely and painful effort opens a new page in Greek swimming. This is the Greek ice swimmer, swimmer in icy waters Haris Theodosi who was born in Corfu in 1976.

He is the 1st Greek swimming athlete, to whom the International Federation IISA “International Ice Swimming Association” awarded the title of “International Ice Swimmer”, while he is the only Greek to date, who participated in two World Championships, in 2019 in Murmansk Russia and a few days ago on the river Oder in Poland.

We met Charis training at the Corfu Nautical Club. It was late afternoon, because, as he said, the temperatures at sea for his efficient long-term training must be low. I learned to swim from the age of 2-3 years. This love over the years has developed into a passion and a goal. My dream was to be able to swim everywhere on earth, in every river, sea or lake. “As the years go by, my dream comes true”, he tells APE-MPE and tells his story.

The Corfiot swimmer, when he graduated from the Gymnastics Academy in Komotini, “listened” to his wishes, to engage in long-distance swimming in the open seas. His adventure, as he says, began in 2003, with the participation in the international race Kalamata-Koroni, where he took the 6th place, which became his springboard, for greater challenges and emotions.

The journey to ice swimming

“In 2008 I swam for the first time outside Greece and participated in the crossing of the English Channel. I continued to organize in the Baltic, in the North Sea, in lakes, in rivers in Europe. The voyage continued to the South Pole and from Australia, I swam in the Arctic Ocean, at the northernmost point of the earth, in Murmansk at 0 degrees. In 2016, after my participation in the Ireland-Scotland voyage, the Irish Ice Swimming Federation recognized my endurance in the cold, and offered me to swim in ice water, and after accepting the challenge, the Irish are the ones who so far they support me in training “. At this point, Haris Theodosis makes special reference to the support he had from the Chandris family but also to the late businessman Theodoros Vasilakis, whom he reportedly met in 2015 and since then, by his own decision until today, his effort is supported, with Free air travel to all sporting events with Aegean Airlines.

With the help of the Chandris family, after 2010 he participated in events in the largest lakes in Europe, the North Sea and the Baltic. In 2014 the athlete crosses the Baltic. “It was a special fight for me, because of the emotional charge I had for two reasons. I became the first Greek to swim the distance Germany-Denmark in 7 hours 36΄, while the race was dedicated to the memory of Myrtos Chandris, who with her charitable work offered a lot “. In Murmansk at the 2019 World Championships, he swam one kilometer to 0 points and finished 39th out of 63 athletes from around the world.

At the recent World Championships in Poland on the Oder River, the water temperature ranged from 1.8 to 3.4 degrees Celsius while outside temperatures were at -8 or -10 with very strong winds. The athlete says that in these conditions “the 3 races he took part in were painful, dangerous and difficult”, as the distance he swam was great.

In the 500 meters race he took the 8th place in his category in the world.

The big problem of Haris Theodosis, in relation to the other athletes, as he points out, is that he lives in Corfu, where the temperatures, even in the winter months, do not fall below 11 degrees.

“My training is 6-7 hours a day, very morning or very evening, and then I try to participate in competitions or world cups, in order to prepare for the biggest events.

Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, I have even more difficulty. “For Poland, within 6 days, I had to prepare and compete with other athletes, with a higher level in a world championship”, he states characteristically.

The risk of swimming in icy waters

“The mind is awake. You fight for life. The body reacts to live and to end “. This is the first answer of Haris Theodosis, to the question, about the dangers that the daring sport hides. The continuation of the discussion is shocking.

“The most difficult for any athlete, for any training, the fight in the ice, is the battle for survival. The body enters a process of pure survival, because it feels the extreme cold the pain in the ice, you feel that thousands of knives, nails enter the your body, which at that moment is trying to react, while at the same time you are trying to swim fast at a distance of one kilometer in the ice.

All this requires hard training, exposure to low temperatures. Another method of training is the ice bath, ie we go into ice baths, sit and try to increase our stay. It also helps to prepare for frozen lakes or rivers that are at altitude. Helps the body to exceed its limits.

There is a risk. Athletes have lost their lives in training or competitions. You never know the body’s reaction to the extreme cold.

The most dangerous race for me was in 2016, the 22 miles I swam from Ireland to Scotland. An athlete opposed me. However, in the boat that accompanied us, he was a doctor, they had a defibrillator and a helicopter came in a quarter, which received him. Fortunately he lived.

In the North Sea there is the 3rd most toxic species of jellyfish. We received stings. I was in a lot of pain, I was swimming and crying in pain and I was continuing with antihistamines and cortisone drugs, given to me by the crew, from the escort boat.

In the icy waters of Murmansk, in the snowstorm and strong wind, the body feels unbearable pain after 600 meters. As it snows, with the breath the snow enters the mouth and goes to the lungs “.

In Corfu, where Haris Theodosis lives, by decision of the Medical Association, a team of doctors provides him with free medical examinations and follow-up all year round.

Twice a year each athlete undergoes a test to be informed of his medical record located in the International Federation, so that they know his physical condition before each race.

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