Chilean 'mermaid' smashes Guinness World Record for longest swim in Antartica waters: Video
Chilean open-water swimmer Bárbara Hernández, famously known as the “Ice Mermaid”, has smashed another Guinness World Record after completing the longest swim ever by a Chilean woman in freezing waters.
Speaking from Puerto Natales after the swim, Hernández celebrated the achievement with Viory, saying, “We’ve just been officially confirmed for our fourth Guinness World Record for the longest distance ever swum by a Chilean woman in the world, this Ice Mermaid. Thank you all, from here in Puerto Natales. Huge thanks to the entire team who made this possible. We love you so much. We’re incredibly grateful to one of my sponsors, of course, to my family, and to this amazing team who gave their all to make this happen. So, 3,840 meters swum at 4.5 degrees Celsius in truly freezing waters and we’ve got our fourth Guinness World Record.”
Hernández completed the 3.84-kilometre swim in 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 15 seconds, beating the previous women’s world record set by Poland’s Izabela Babica, who swam 3.54 kilometres in Lake Strzeszynskie earlier this year at 4.02°C.
The Chilean swimmer began her attempt at 9:44 a.m., braving icy waters where the feels-like temperature was just 3°C. Her body temperature quickly dropped, and by the time she left the water, she was in hypothermia, with a core temperature of only 31°C.
Her achievement comes only a month after Hernández made headlines with her historic double crossing of the English Channel, swimming for more than 27 continuous hours.
The Ice Mermaid already holds three Guinness World Records: the fastest ice mile and longest swim at Cape Horn in 2022, and two Antarctic records in 2023 for the longest polar swim and as the only woman to complete a 2.5-kilometre swim in Antarctic waters.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
