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Cath Pendleton: Merthyr Mermaid Breaking The Ice

ByJoanne Murphy |

Cath Pendleton has become a household name in recent times as the feature of a recent BBC documentary that followed her adventures as an ice swimmer all the way to Antarctica. Known as “The Merthyr Mermaid,” she earned a Guinness World Record for “The most southerly Ice Swim (female)” as the first person to swim a mile inside the Antarctica Polar Circle. Her Zero Ice Mile was in 0.03°C water and -3.20°C air. She completed the mammoth swim in 32 minutes 54 seconds.

Cath’s swimming accolades include swimming the English Channel in 2018, which began with her taking a notion to google how do you swim the Channel. She has represented Great Britain at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Russia, where she finished third in her age group. She has completed 8 official ice miles to date and a number of unofficial ice miles, she plans to complete the Ice 7’s Challenge by completing an Ice Mile, ratified by IISA in each of the seven continents on earth. Although the pandemic has delayed some of the timeline on this challenge, Cath continues to prepare for the challenges ahead by swimming in a recently built pool at home and sitting in a chest freezer daily!

She loves swimming and loves ice swimming even more, her immersion in cold icy water is her sanctuary from daily life. Ice swimming coupled with the social aspect of swimming has had a huge impact on her life, resulting in a whole new world of adventure and exceptional achievements. Cath’s passion for her sport is infectious, the vivid description of her adventure in Antarctica is fascinating, she may hate cold showers but pop her in an ice bath and she is a magnificent mermaid and incredible advocate for going after your goals with perseverance

Listen to the episode HERE, if you are enjoying the podcast, please take a few minutes to give it a review on Apple podcasts or on the Tri Talking Sport Facebook Page I’d love to hear from you. You can email me directly on,tritalkingsport@gmail.com or pop me a message via any of the social platforms across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Linkedin.

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