Open Water Swimmers Take It To The Extreme with Ice Miles, Channel Swims and Marathon Swims

American Gordon Gridley completed a 26-minute Ice Mile in December 2013 in the Great Salt Lake, Utah in 1.19°C water and 6°C air at 1,000 meters altitude in December 2013.

A half year later, he conceived of the Frosted Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming (or FTC), a term reserved for individuals who complete both the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and an Ice Mile, demonstrating both endurance in swimming marathon distances and extreme cold water swimming.

To date, the following individuals are Frosted Triple Crowners:

1. Craig Lenning (USA) achieved in July 2011
2. Elaine Kornbau Howley (USA) achieved in December 2012
3. Ned Denison (Ireland) achieved in February 2013
4. Gordon Gridley (USA) - FTC achieved in June 2014
5. Ciaran Byrne (Ireland) achieved in July 2014
6. Colleen Blair (Scotland) achieved in February 2015
7. Jaimie Monahan (USA) achieved in March 2015
8. Helen Beveridge (Scotland) achieved in June 2015
9. Sarah Thomas (USA) achieved in November 2015
10. Tracy Clark (New Zealand) achieved in August 2016
11. Matthias Kaßner (Germany) achieved in January 2017
12. Boguslaw Ogrodnik (Poland) achieved in July 2017
13. Ion Lazarenco Tiron (Republic of Moldova) achieved in September 2017
14. Ranie Pearce (USA) achieved in January 2018
15. Graeme Lowe (UK) achieved in February 2018
16. Paula Yankauskas (USA) achieved in September 2018
17. Paul Eugen Dorin Georgescu (Romania) achieved in February 2019
18. Anna-Carin Nordin (Sweden) achieved in June 2019
19. Benjamin Freeman (Australia) achieved in June 2019
20. Jim Loreto (USA) achieved in January 2020
21. Simon Olliver (New Zealand) achieved in August 2020
22. Bárbara Hernández Huerta (Chile) achieved in September 2020
23. Marcia Cleveland (USA) achieved in December 2020
24. Melissa Kegler (USA) achieved in December 2020
25. Jessi Harewicz (Canada) achieved in December 2020
26. Martin McMahon (USA) achieved in August 2021
27. Qing Li (USA) achieved in December 2021
28. Lynton Mortensen (Australia) achieved in May 2022
29. Kate Steels (UK) achieved in August 2022
30. Fergal Madden (Ireland) achieved in August 2022
31. Melanie Tyrrell (UK) achieved in August 2022
32. Nikki Pope (UK) achieved in September 2022
33. Rosie Foley (Ireland) achieved in September 2022
34. Ger Devin (Ireland) achieved in October 2022
35. Elizabeth Almond (USA) achieved in December 2022
36. Melanie Holland (UK) achieved in January 2023
37. Vera Rivard (USA) achieved in February 2023

The International Ice Swimming Association USA celebrated the most recent and youngest Frosted Triple Crowner, Vera Rivard who is the youngest American Ice Swimmer at 19 years and 18 days young.

Rivard, who grew up on Lake Kolelemook in Springfield, New Hampshire, completed her Ice Mile with Elaine Howley and Natalie Lang in 4.10°C water in 32 minutes 31 seconds. She completed her mandatory Ice Kilometer qualification swim at the same location on January 29th, just a few weeks prior.

Rivard was only five years old when she started swimming. At 10, she completed her first open water swim at the Kingdom Swim in Vermont. Her precociousness continued in her teens when she became the second youngest American to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming after completeing the 45.9 km 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island, the 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel from England to France at 16 years old, and the 32.3 km crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to Southern California at 17 years and 198 days.

In 2019, she was named one of the World's 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women after finishing swims such as the 40.2 km In Search of Memphre across Lake Memphrémagog, numerous Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival swims, and Kingdom Swims including 15-mile circumnavigation Border Bumper Swims. In 2020, Rivard was inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame as an individual and as a member of Team Rivard in the Class of 2020.

By Steven Munatones.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and Editor of the KAATSU Magazine. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), Dale Petranech Award for Services to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (2022), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007 and 2010), and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984, awarded to the senior whose interests are not bounded by academic or institutional structures. A joyous, deeply-rooted affirmation of life, disdain for the purely conventional; a love of adventure, and desire to learn by experiencing; the ability to respond creatively to difficult situations). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee (until 2011) and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, a 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff including 4 FINA World Championships, and 2008 NBC Olympic 10K Marathon Swim commentator.

Location: Huntington Beach, CA, USA

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