Wild Swimmers of the Year, 2017
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED to announce the shortlist for The Wild Swimming Brothers 'Wild Swimmer of the Year 2017’…
After another busy year of swimming we've heard about so many wild and wonderful expeditions and wanted to compile our shortlist of a few of our favourite swimmers of 2017. Before we go into the list we wanted to look at the criteria for selection in order to make the list.
We like to class a wild swim as a swim outdoors in the nature (out of your comfort zone), so no outdoor pools or lidos. We'll put that into the subcategory of 'outdoor swimming'. We're also leaving out the big channel, marathon, and open water swimmers as we wanted to create a list of people who are within grasp of mere mortals and these swimmers are very well represented by WOWSA. Just check out Sarah Thomas's 100 mile swim of Lake Champlain for evidence of the insane lengths marathon swimmers can go to.
Anyway, let’s get to it - here's our shortlist for the Top 10 Wild Swimmers of 2017:
Vivienne Rickman-Poole
We’ve followed Vivienne’s aquatic journeys for some time now and her exploration of the wild lynns and lakes of the rugged Welsh mountains has captured our imaginations. She uses expert photography and creativity to craft evocative shots of misty hilltop lakes. Her calming and ethereal images convey an ancient and timeless wilderness that epitomise why we love swimming outside so much.
Find Vivienne on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeC2GHaAzWD/?taken-by=viviennerickmanpoole
Calum Maclean
Nominated for smashing through ice-covered mountain lakes, enduring midges and exploring the remote wild swimming spots of Tasmania. Apart from obviously having an incredible name (guess who wrote this), Calum is a bit of a wild swimming creative guru and we have loved following his journeys all year and can’t wait to see what he’s got planned for 2018.
Find Calum on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeEBvo5lIIH/?taken-by=caldamac
Ella Chloe
We've absolutely loved following Ella Chloe - you can rest assured that no matter the weather, rain or shine, freezing or warm, she will be out there swimming. What strikes us about her, above all wild swimmers, is that she just makes it look so fun - it's never macho or about distance or an ego… it's always just about the sheer bloody joy of jumping into water.
Find Ella on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BdTAn6UnNCd/?taken-by=ellachloeswims
Swim Story Sam
We've been following Sam for some time. We’re always inspired by his relentless and continuous march to swim at every possible opportunity. Day in, day out, he's out there clocking up the miles. Often he swims in the Big Rivers of Tennessee and his images evoke a true sense of the grand scale of US wild rivers and waterways.
Find and follow Sam on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BaJ2DGCjPyt/?taken-by=swimstory
Birna Hronn
We’ve been following Birna on Instagram for some time now. She showcases the breathtaking beauty of the land of Ice and Fire and is very adept at finding secret otherworldly swim spots. The Icelandic Ice Maiden absolutely deserves her spot on the list!
Find Birna on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/icebirna/
Barbara Hernandez
The Chilean Snow Swimmer, Barbara Hernandez, has blown us away this year with a number of breathtaking and beautiful swims across the remote glaciers and mountains of the Andes. Every time we read one of her stories (or see an image) we're immediately transported to a faraway icy and mountainous realm. She is consistently pushing the limits of high altitude wild swimming - one to watch for 2018!
Find Barbara on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc_ED_PFYXH/?taken-by=barbarehlla_h
Norman Todd and Colin Macleod
We had the pleasure of meeting both Norman and Colin last summer during our "Wild Lady of Loch Broom Expedition". It was an absolute joy swimming with them and we had a feeling that they'd be going on to bigger and better things, which they proved by swimming from Achiltibuie to Ullapool - a whopping 14 miles. What we loved the most though, was that they did the swim to raise awareness for the Living Seas Project, which encourages youngsters to engage with marine life through snorkeling expeditions. Fantastic stuff!
Read more about Norman and Colin in this new article
Photo Credit: Noel Hawkins
Tam McVean
We've loved following Tam's 'My Daily Raw Swim' project and the way she captures the wild and untamed beauty of swimming in the sea. She never wears a wetsuit and her unique journeys into the wild waves of the Hebrides inspire us everyday to get out there and go for a swim. She also has an awesome dog which features heavily and that always gets a big thumbs up from us! :)
Find and follow Tam on Instagram
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BcP850zDw6c/?taken-by=tamsinmcvean
Swimstaman
Like the Stig of wild swimming, we don't know his name but goddamn do we enjoy his photographs. He can be found swimming all over the lakes of Switzerland and always manages to capture unique and evocative shots of his adventures.
Find and follow Swimstaman on Instagram
THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU
Every single one of you who decided to find time in your daily routine to get outside and go for a swim deserves to be on our list. It's been so inspiring and humbling to share the waterways with all of our aquatic brothers and sisters. Here's to plenty more cold, uncomfortable, but totally exhilirating swims to come.
We hope you enjoyed our Top 10 Wild Swimmers of the Year. We'll see you in the water soon!