THE PLUNGE

A sports writer encounters the warm community of ice swimmers.

A mediocre swimmer and no fan of frigid temperatures, Sports Illustrated writer Ballard nevertheless accepted the challenge of an editor to explore the increasingly popular phenomenon among health enthusiasts of the cold-water plunge. Celebrities and athletes like Dwayne Johnson, Joe Rogan, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James have popularized the idea that sitting in ice water is a boon to health, calming inflamed muscles, joints, and nerves as well as, not incidentally, improving mental health. Ballard quickly found plenty of scientific research backing these claims and offering explanations for the physiological benefits that result from the body’s autonomic response to the shock of extreme cold, as well as for the psychological boost from endorphins released under “positive stress.” The author did not expect to find, let alone join, a tight community of men and women who enjoy the challenge of not only sitting in freezing water, but also swimming in it, in open water, in winter, all over the world, from Coney Island to the Arctic Circle. “[C]ombine swimming and cold, and do it with others, out in nature?” Ballard muses. “Therein lies the sweet spot. There, you get it all: endorphins, adrenaline, camaraderie, and awe, creating what renowned open-water swimmer Lynne Cox has called, ‘an acute awareness of your life in the moment.’” As Ballard readies himself to attempt a long-distance swim in frigid Boston Harbor, he also follows the progress of an Israeli-born South African businessman to bring ice swimming to the Olympics as potentially the first sport to be offered in both the summer and winter games. The swimmers include Olympians, Paralympians, and, mostly, just plain folks, and being a talented sports writer, Ballard has us cheering for them all.

Loads of vicarious chills and thrills.