Meet Krzysztof Gajewski, 34, from Poland. The toughest man in the ICE. On 13 Dec 2025, Krzysztof broke his own WR Ice Swim, swimming 6,025 metres in 4.18°C water in a lake in Poland. 

His Motto is "Discover new lands and sail to the unknown..."

Three months later, he attempted to swim at Nordkapp, the tip of Norway, the northernmost point in Europe, at 71.01 ° North. He set another amazing World Record, the longest Polar Ice Swim, 3.43 km, in just under an hour, at an average water temperature of 3.09 °C. He described swimming in such a remote location at sea, in such a hostile environment, as adding a significant mental challenge.

He also managed to swim 2 km at 0°C in the famous Hintertux Glacier at an altitude of 3250 m in an icy tunnel where the well-known Josef Koberl holds his icy swim camps. 

"The problem isn't hypothermia. Thermally, you're often much better than many athletes who swim a kilometre or five hundred metres. It seems illogical, but the warm-up process after getting out of the water is very short." Krystof, together with Dr Michal, is observing an interesting phenomenon of core body temperature rising after a prolonged ice swim. Whether it's unique to Krzysztof or something we will discover in the future, who knows... still so much to learn about Ice Swimming.  

When we asked him where the limit in distance ice swimming is, he said, "What actually stops a distance ice swimmer is harder to name, and different every time. Sometimes it's a drop in glycogen levels, sometimes cramps, difficulty maintaining a lying position in the water, loss of concentration, balance, or breathing problems. These are at least a few factors that, when combined, determine whether you're able to continue swimming," says Kryztof. "Not hypothermia. A slow, complex convergence of physical systems, each one manageable alone, collectively impossible to ignore."

"This nicely demonstrates how complex and diverse a sport ice swimming is, and how difficult it is to compare individual swims."

"The biggest challenge is always when you're already cold, around 2 kilometres, and you still have a long way to go. I fight the thought that it's impossible to reach my goal. After that, it's easier, because I'm 100% focused on surviving and continuing swimming."

The only objective becomes the next stroke.

Training for this is a balance most people would find contradictory - high body mass for cold endurance, combined with enough speed to actually reach the target distance before the body gives out.

"These are two mutually exclusive parameters. On the one hand, you need to be able to endure long periods of time in cold water. But if you swim too slowly, you won't achieve your goal."

Krzysztof didn't start distance ice swimming for records. He started because he wanted to understand something.

"I've always been curious about the limits of the human body's capabilities, particularly the processes in our bodies that determine how long we can endure cold water. The best way to understand this topic was to test it myself."

After every record, he sits with his team to analyse what could have been done better, what preparation could be improved, and what the data showed. And then the only logical conclusion presents itself again. Go further.

"After such an analysis, the only solution is to test our capabilities again."

Not as dangerous as you think. More remarkable than you can imagine.

The biggest misconception about distance ice swimming, according to Krzysztof, is that it's reckless.

"The process of losing the ability to swim is similar each time and happens very slowly. This allows you to identify a clear point at which to stop swimming without risk."

He doesn't do this alone. He works with one of the world's leading cold-water safety specialists, and every swim is built on preparation, analysis and trust.

This is not a death wish. It is science, discipline and curiosity, pushed to the edge of what a human body can do in water.

Nevertheless, ice swimming is an extreme sport, and long-distance ice swimming can be dangerous. The safest way to practise it is to set safety triggers that, when observed, terminate the swim immediately. It requires experience and an experienced support team.