How cold is too cold? Establishing the minimum water temperature limits for marathon swim racing.

To provide a rationale for minimum water temperature rules for elite and subelite marathon swim racing and highlight factors that make individuals vulnerable to excessive cooling during open water swimming. 12 lean competitive swimmers swam for up to 2 hours, three times in different water temperatures between 14°C and 20°C, wearing standard swimming costumes and hats. Rectal temperature (T In 16°C, half the swimmers did not complete a 2-hour swim; four became (or were predicted to become) hypothermic within 2 hours. In 18°C, three-quarters completed the swim; three became (or were predicted to become) hypothermic. In 20°C, one swimmer was predicted to become hypothermic in under 2 hours. The mean linear rate of fall of T We recommend that 16°C and 18°C water are too cold for elite marathon swim racing. FédérationInternationale de Natation rules were changed in 2017 to make wetsuits compulsory below 18°C and optional below 20°C.

Informations de copyright

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Competing interests: None declared.