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Frozen Ferns Excel at Ice Swimming World Championships

Event Wrap - 2025 IISA World Ice Swimming Championships


A 16-strong team of New Zealand's bravest swimmers recently competed at the 2025 World Ice Swimming Championships in Molveno, Italy. Taking place in an outdoor pool in less than freezing conditions, the Frozen Ferns represented New Zealand with pride at the championships held between 13 - 19 January, taking home more than 50 medals and breaking six world records.


The team included current ice swimming world champions and age group record holders, as well as veteran swimmers who have represented New Zealand on the world stage in other swimming events.


For those who aren't familiar with Ice Swimming, it involves swimming in water at a temperature of 5.0°C (or less) unassisted, with a silicone cap, pair of goggles and standard swimming costume. The international body, the International Ice Swimming Association, have established a comprehensive set of safety and swimming rules together with worldwide swim records.


The World Championships are held in an Olympic sized swimming pool, and ice swimmers compete across all strokes in a range of distances up to the challenging 1000m. The championships brought together 752 athletes from 48 countries, with more than 3,500 starts and often more than 100 people in each event.


The team braved sub 2°C waters over the championships, with the air temperature fluctuating between 3°C and 5°C during the day and dropping to as cold as -7°C overnight. We'd like to acknowledge the incredible medical team that played an integral role in ensuring the safety of every swimmer after each time they were in the water, and a special shout out to the Frozen Ferns' medic team of Dr Karen Bisley and Bri Duffield who stepped up to voluntarily support the over-stretched Event Medical team.


There were plenty of exceptional performances over the course of the championships, with more than 50 medals earned by the Frozen Ferns, alongside five age group World Records and one open World Record set. A full list of medals and world records earned by the New Zealand team can be found at the bottom of this article.


One of the highlights of the championships came in the women's 200m individual medley, where three Kiwis were in the evening's open final. Emilia Finer (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) broke her own world record in the 200m individual medley en route to winning the open title, while there was some sibling rivalry for the bronze medal with Heidi Winter finishing ahead of her sister Sophie.


Finer rounded out the championships with an impressive eight medals, including two open world championship titles, plus one open and two age group world records.



16-year-old Heidi Winter (Alexandra) had an exceptional showing at the championships in Italy, taking home nine medals, three age group world records, and capturing New Zealand's maiden open title at a World Ice Swimming Championships when she won gold overall in the 100m freestyle on the third day of competition.


Sophie Winter (Alexandra) also picked up an open world championship title, taking out the women's 100m breaststroke in an incredible fashion by surging ahead in the final five meters to get her hand on the wall first. Winter earned a total of six medals over the course of the championships, meaning the Winter sisters left Italy with a whopping 15 medals between them.


Meanwhile, Charlotte Brynn impressed in the 1000m freestyle, breaking the 55-59 years age group world record. It was another family affair, with Brynn competing at the championships alongside her daughter Heidi Brynn.


Other standout performers included Cameron Stanley (Wanaka), who won the open bronze medal in the men's 100m backstroke on the opening day of competition, and Para swimmers Meg Agnew and Francois Lambrechts, who each picked up multiple medals over the course of the competition.


Ice Swimming New Zealand's Susan Sherwen spoke on the success of the team in Italy:

"I thought we did well at New Zealand's first World Championships two years ago, but this team has blown us all away. This year we have been making a big dent in the Open Medals as well. We are all very proud of the team."

The Frozen Ferns made a name for themselves poolside at the championships, acknowledged for their professionalism and supportive team culture. The team's cheer squad overlooked the pool from the upper deck, with their iconic white tasselled, handmade black beanies accompanying enthusiastic cheering from the Frozen Ferns throughout the competition. Honorary Frozen Fern, Laetitia Berten, was Team Captain, supporting and liaising with the team through the various changes and challenges an international competition of this calibre brings.


Roger Soulsy, Team Manager, spoke on the supportive team atmosphere:

"The raucous poolside support from the Frozen Ferns has not gone unnoticed, lifting the spirits of swimmers from around the world."

Congratulations to the entire Frozen Ferns team, alongside the incredible team medics, Dr Karen Bisley and Bri Duffield, and team manager, Roger Soulsby, on representing New Zealand so proudly on the international stage.









World Records


Open (WR)


Emilia Finer – Neptune Swim Club / Swim Dunedin
  • 200m Individual Medley


Age Group (WR)


Emilia Finer (18-24 Years) – Neptune Swim Club / Swim Dunedin
  • 500m Freestyle

  • 200m Individual Medley


Heidi Winter (Under 17 Years) – Alexandra Swimming Club
  • 50m Freestyle

  • 100m Freestyle

  • 200m Individual Medley


Charlotte Brynn (55-59 Years)
  • 1000m Freestyle



Medals


Open


Emilia Finer – Neptune Swim Club / Swim Dunedin
  • Gold – Women's 100m Butterfly

  • Gold – Women's 200m Individual Medley

  • Silver – Women's 250m Freestyle

  • Silver – Women's 500m Freestyle


Sophie Winter – Alexandra Swimming Club
  • Gold – 100m Breaststroke

  • Silver – 50m Breaststroke

  • Silver – 50m Butterfly


Heidi Winter – Alexandra Swimming Club
  • Gold – 100m Freestyle

  • Bronze – 100m Backstroke

  • Bronze – 200m Individual Medley


Cameron Stanley – Wanaka Swim Club
  • Bronze – 100m Backstroke


Para


Meg Agnew
  • Bronze – 100m Breaststroke

  • Bronze – 50m Breaststroke


Francois Lambrechts
  • Gold – 500m Freestyle

  • Gold – 1000m Freestyle

  • Silver – 250m Freestyle

  • Bronze – 100m Freestyle


Age Group


Quinn Boyle (18-24 Years) – Selwyn Swim Club
  • Silver – 500m Freestyle

  • Silver – 1000m Freestyle


Charlotte Brynn (55-59 Years)
  • Gold – 1000m Freestyle

  • Silver – 250m Freestyle

  • Silver – 500m Freestyle


Heidi Brynn (25-29 Years)
  • Gold – 50m Freestyle

  • Gold – 100m Freestyle

  • Silver – 100m Backstroke

  • Bronze – 50m Butterfly

  • Bronze – 250m Freestyle


Emilia Finer (18-24 Years) – Neptune Swim Club / Swim Dunedin
  • Gold – Women's 100m Butterfly

  • Gold – Women's 200m Individual Medley

  • Gold – Women's 250m Freestyle

  • Gold – Women's 500m Freestyle


Madeline Hobo (18-24 Years)
  • Gold – 500m Freestyle

  • Gold – 100m Breaststroke

  • Bronze – 250m Freestyle


Kevin Hopkins (70-74 Years)
  • Bronze – 100m Freestyle

  • Bronze – 250m Freestyle

  • Bronze – 500m Freestyle


Stephen Moore (60-64 Years)
  • Bronze – 1000m Freestyle


Bethany Rogers (35-39 Years)
  • Silver – 100m Backstroke

  • Bronze – 200m Individual Medley

  • Bronze – 1000m Freestyle


Cameron Stanley (35-39 Years) – Wanaka Swim Club
  • Gold – 50m Backstroke

  • Gold – 100m Backstroke


Sophie Winter (18-24 Years) – Alexandra Swimming Club
  • Gold – 50m Butterfly

  • Silver – 100m Breaststroke

  • Bronze – 200m Individual Medley


Heidi Winter (Under 17 Years) – Alexandra Swimming Club
  • Gold – 50m Freestyle

  • Gold – 100m Freestyle

  • Gold – 250m Freestyle

  • Gold – 100m Backstroke

  • Gold – 100m Butterfly

  • Gold – 200m Individual Medley


Anneke Veenstra (45-49 Years) – Honorary Frozen Fern representing the Netherlands
  • Gold – 500m Freestyle

  • Silver – 250m Freestyle

  • Bronze – 1000m Freestyle


Frozen Ferns team

Meg Agnew

Helen Bolton

Quinn Boyle

Charlotte Brynn

Heidi Brynn

Maddy Copeland

Emilia Finer

Kevin Hopkins

Francois Lambrechts

Madeline Hobo

Stephen Moore

Bethany Rogers

Tatjana Schmidt

Cameron Stanley

Heidi Winter

Sophie Winter


Roger Soulsy – Team Manager

Dr Karen Bisley and Bri Duffield – Team Medics


Honorary Frozen Ferns

The following swimmers are New Zealand residents; they have trained and swam with the NZ team and represented the country of their citizenship (as per IISA rules) at the championships:

 

Laetitia Berten – Belgium

Anneke Veenstra – the Netherlands

Robyn Watts – USA


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