‘Ice mermaid’ swimmer breaks two world records completing swim in Antarctic

A swimmer from Chile has broken two world records after completing the longest swim ever by a person in Antarctic waters

Barbara Hernandez, nicknamed the “ice mermaid”, covered a distance of 2.5 km at 2.2C in 45 minutes wearing just a swimsuit.

The swimmer also completed the fastest mile swim of Drake Passage in just 15 minutes and three seconds.

Ms Hernandez is well-versed in swimming at cold temperatures, having previously won medals across the globe for ice water swimming.

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