Orchestra 
DIGITAL WORLD
BRICS+ Media Centre 
MODERN RUSSIAN 
06.08.2026
Ram Barkai, Founder of International Ice Swimming Association: "Swimming in ice is physical, but 80% of success is mental"
According to industry estimates, about 2 million people worldwide now practise winter or ice swimming. Enthusiasts say this extreme sport helps strengthen the immune system and has a positive effect on virtually all bodily systems. Since the late 2000s, winter swimming has been actively promoted by Ram Barkai, a seventy-year-old athlete who has taken part in multi-hour swims in South Africa, Russia and China.
What attracts athletes to this sport? What initiatives could improve the safety of such competitions?
Ram Barkai, Founder of the International Ice Swimming Association, told about this in a BRICSterview.
TV BRICS reporter: Tatyana Likhachyova
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