SWIMMING in icy waters under 3°C is not for the faint-hearted but that did not deter Marcelle Stiemens from showing her mettle at the recent International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) World Ice Swimming Championship in Molveno, Italy.
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The La Lucia resident, who represented South Africa at the champs in January, won six medals and broke four world records in her age group.
The 58-year-old, who is head of aquatics at Danville Park Girls’ High School, won four gold, one silver and one bronze medal.
She won gold in the 50m fly, 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke and also won the 200m individual medley race, where she broke the four world records.
The masters swimmer also won a silver medal in the 1000m freestyle event.
Stiemens, who also coaches at various schools in the Durban North area, said her faith in Christ as well as her perseverance helped her triumph at the champs.
“For me the championships was not about the medals, it was showing you can overcome anything through the power of Jesus Christ. I also see it as an opportunity to encourage and help inspire others to take on challenges. Don’t let unfavourable outcomes take away opportunities from you. As a sport, ultra-marathon and ice swimming has taught me about resilience and fortitude. So often when it comes to unfavourable circumstances in our lives, we treat it as such. We should rather look at it as an opportunity to persevere and overcome, trusting in God always,” she said.
She also gave some background to her open-water swimming journey which began in 2016.
“In 2011 I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and then rheumatoid arthritis just four years later. I was told I’d never be able to swim or run again. But in 2017, I came to salvation in Christ by grace through faith. Seeking a fresh start, I moved to Cape Town and I joined a group of open water swimmers. At that point, I had all but given up on swimming altogether. I had never attempted open water swimming before, but with this group, I discovered adventure. The bug had bitten.
“I swam my first Robben Island in December 2017, a double Robben Island in February in 2019 and then went on to swim the English Channel (33km) in August that same year. The day of the swim from England to France I didn’t have the best of conditions. I started at 01:30 in the morning with a fair swell running on the English side. I completed the swim in 11 hours and 29 minutes. It was a great experience and that cemented my journey to ultramarathon and ice swimming events,” she said.
Stiemens also represented South Africa at the World Ice Swimming Championship in Murmansk, Russia in 2019 where she won three golds and a silver.
She has some exciting ultra-marathon and ice swims planned for 2025 and 2026.
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