The Christmas Cup animates the Rade de Genève<

Some 1,500 intrepid swimmers threw themselves into the water on Saturday in the Rade de Genève for the 82nd edition of the Christmas Cup, in a lake at 7 degrees and in an ambient temperature that was barely positive. Good humor, costumes and music were on the agenda.

Canceled last year due to Covid-19, this event launched in 1934 by Geneva Swimming is working hard this year. For the first time, it takes place over two days. The organizers recorded 3,200 registrations (1,500-1,600 for each day), a record, for what they present as the biggest "winter-swimming" event in the world.

Launched into the icy waters of Lake Geneva in groups of around twenty people, at regular intervals, the swimmers took care before diving to splash themselves with buckets of cold water, in a joyous momentum accompanied by cries of excitement.

"This race is legendary, I come here to enjoy the atmosphere with my friends," said a participant, "dressed" in the bare minimum, to Keystone-ATS.

Most of these cold-weather athletes were decked out in sometimes eccentric disguises, from Superman suits to penguins to caveman outfits to plastic pink flamingos mounted on their heads. The large audience even saw a swimmer on stilts.

“Swimming in cold water is good for the head and blood circulation. It provides a kind of excitement and well-being that lasts for several hours even after bathing,” explained an organizer.

100 meters under the minute

Swimmers have exactly 100 meters to cover. The record to beat is just under a minute (59''26). The vast majority do not chase the clock but seek a little adrenaline rush in a very friendly atmosphere, visibly not at all disturbed by the Covid, the usual precautions having been taken.

The elite will start on Sunday, with a bonus of 500 francs at stake for the best man and the best woman.

The budget for the event amounts to some 200,000 francs, said the president of the organizing committee, Christophe Jacot. The profit goes to Genève Natation and is used to improve the training of young swimmers and the quality of the coaches.

The event combines popular sport, celebration and the quest for personal challenges, under the sponsorship of champions such as Benoît Schwarz, who will represent Switzerland in curling at the Beijing Olympics in February, or Celine van Till, former international para-athlete. dressage and para-athletics, which will take the plunge on Sunday for the first time.

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