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How I Became the Oldest Man to Swim the Ice Mile
After swimming in frigid temps, a 66-year-old Tennessee pastor resurfaces in the 'Guinness Book of World Records'
For the Ice Mile Challenge, Don Winters braved freezing conditions to swim in Tennessee's Watauga Lake in January 2024.
Emily Ball/Bristol Herald Courier/Courtesy Don Winters
The Guinness Book of World Records always fascinated me, but some records are more respectable than others. I’m not so sure about somebody watching a movie 4,000 times or growing the longest fingernails. But the mountain-climbing records, the running records, the athletic feats — those are impressive.
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I never thought about breaking a record myself, honestly. A few years ago, I started swimming in cold water in Watauga Lake across from the Baptist church in the East Tennessee mountains where I’m a pastor. I wanted to see how late into winter I could swim, and I got into November and December. Winter’s in my name and probably in my blood, so why not? I saw those Polar Bear swimmers in New York plunging into the ocean, and I thought, If people up North can stand the cold, why can’t we Appalachian people do it? Mountain people are as tough a bunch as I have ever been around.
“You can’t just let life slide. You have to challenge yourself. If you’re healthy, you’ve got to do something.”
Last year, I heard about the “ice mile” and decided to try it. You swim a mile, but the water needs to be below 41 degrees. You can’t wear a wet suit — only a bathing suit and a swim cap. I’d been doing short dips in cold water, but now I started working my way up to 20 minutes, 35 minutes, three days a week. With age, my joints were getting a little stiff, and I felt this type of exercise would help. What really kicked this into gear was when I saw that the world’s oldest ice miler, a guy from Ireland, was 66 years and 20 days old. I said to my wife, Lena, “Hey, look at that! I’m 66 and 100 days old. I can beat this!”
Getting into the Guinness Book of World Records is an intense process. You need to register and wait for guidelines. They told me I had to document the swim on video three different ways and get certified witnesses. My daughter was a school journalist in college, so she called the local newspapers. But it was on me to get in shape and practice. People thought I was nuts. They called me the Watauga Lake Lunatic. I didn’t care that much. I was just thankful the good Lord’s given me the health and strength to be out there getting through this.
It’s not until around Christmas when the water gets cold enough, and by January 23, the day of my swim, there was ice on the lake. Let me tell you, when you jump into icy water without a shirt on, it hurts. You go through what’s called cold shock. The first five, 10 minutes, your body’s absolutely screaming at you. But somehow you acclimate. It helped me to recite the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm. When things got really tough, I confessed all my sins to make sure I was in good standing with the Almighty. It was brutal, but after 53 minutes, the record was mine.
Don Winters just before he plunged into frigid Watauga Lake. Official observers from the International Ice Swimming Association, as well as a medical doctor, followed nearby in a boat to make sure he was OK during the 53-minute swim.
Courtesy Don Winters
My dad died in his early 60s. He was a World War II vet who’d seen a lot of action in the South Pacific. One time his ship dropped him somewhere and forgot to come pick him up. About half the men he was with were eaten by sharks. He had a lot of problems coming home and suffered from what we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. My 60s couldn’t be more different. I’m surrounded by the love of my family, and the support of my church and community, and I’ve never had anything wrong physically. But you can’t just let life slide. You have to challenge yourself. If you’re healthy, you’ve got to do something.
Lena and I have three adult children and 10 grandchildren and so many amazing memories and blessings. Should I die tomorrow I’d have no regrets. But you never know what life will bring. My kids and grandkids walk around now saying, “My pa set a Guinness record!” I gotta tell you, that sounds pretty good.
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