Stories of challenging limits

Author: Shu Jing, Yu Lan, Ding Yi / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Swimming in Antarctica
At 4:40 AM Beijing Time on February 8, 2001, which was around 16:40 local time at the Great Wall Station in Antarctica, Dalian native Wang Gangyi entered the water at Great Wall Bay, Antarctica, and successfully returned after reaching Penguin Island. The swim covered approximately 1,500 meters and took 51 minutes, 42 seconds, and 17 milliseconds, setting a new world record for swimming in Antarctica.
Wang Gangyi arrived at the Chilean Antarctic research station in Punta Arenas via a Hercules aircraft at 1:00 AM Beijing Time on February 8, and then drove about 4 kilometers to the Chinese Great Wall Station in Antarctica in a small jeep. After resting for two hours, Wang Gangyi and the staff at the Great Wall Station decided to go for a swim immediately. The researchers at the station specially prepared a bowl of hot noodles for him, wishing him good luck. At the time, the temperature near the Great Wall Station was 1°C, and the water temperature was 1.4°C, with a wind speed of 6 meters per second. However, due to the presence of a large amount of sea ice nearby, the seawater was much colder than freshwater at the same temperature.
At 4:40 PM local time, Wang Gangyi, wearing only protective covers on his head, hands, and feet, entered the water without any other cold-weather gear. To ensure his safety, 22 staff members from the Great Wall Station boarded two rubber rafts to escort him. Although the water temperature in Great Wall Bay was above 0°C, Wang Gangyi felt it colder than the 3°C water in Dalian. The water's penetration and irritation to the body were much greater. It took him about 20 minutes to swim to Penguin Island and touch land, but the return swim was much slower. The wind and waves were strong, and his physical condition was also challenging. His arms had become numb, making his swimming speed slower than on the way there. However, his legs remained strong, and he successfully swam back and climbed onto the shore.
After reaching the shore, Wang Gangyi was in good physical condition. Regarding the Antarctic swimming record he set, Director Ding Jiangzhou of the Space Medicine Research Laboratory at the Navy Medical Research Institute remarked, "It's truly incredible. This is the result of long-term training, as each additional millimeter of subcutaneous fat increases body temperature by 1.5°C. Combined with the extensive adaptive training Wang Gangyi underwent, he was able to achieve this record."
Wang Gangyi's record-breaking swim improved the previous record by 7 minutes. The original record was set in 1982 when Jiang Jialun accidentally fell into the water while sampling at Davis Station in Australia, where he stayed in the water for 45 minutes. On March 21, 2001, Wang Gangyi received a call from the headquarters of the Shanghai Grand World Guinness World Records, confirming that his Antarctic adventure had been verified. His two activities were officially listed as Guinness World Records: "The First Person to Swim the Chilean Great Ice Lake" and "The First Person to Swim Across the Antarctic Ice Sea."
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