ICE Hall of Fame - Honoree
ANTARCTIC CIRCLE ICE CHALLENGE (RSA)(10)
South Africa
Event/Adventure Honoree 2020
2014 ANTARCTIC CIRCLE ICE CHALLENGE
Country: South Africa
Antarctic Circle Challenge (RSA), Honor Event Ice Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Event, Class of 2020:
Led by Ram Barkai in 2014, a group of 6 South African ice swimmers from Cape Town set out to swim official ice miles south of the Antarctic Circle:
• Ram Barkai,
• Andrew Chin
• Kieron Palframan
• Gavin Pike
• Ryan Stramrood
• Toks Viviers
The team indicated poor weather and other factors forced them to re-evaluate their goals regarding latitude and distance.
On 4th March 2014 the team stated that half the swimmers (Ram Barkai, Kieron Palframan, and Ryan Stramood) swam in Neko Harbour, Antarctica 64.8331° S, 62.6664° W and the other half (Andrew Chin, Gavin Pike, Toks Viviers) in Paradise Harbour. All came back safely and indicated they had the following results:
Swimmers:
Gavin Pike: 1 mile in 25 minutes, 57 seconds Witnessed by Ram Barkai and Observer Andrew Chin.
Ryan Stramrood: Neko Harbour - 1 mile in 32 minutes and 8 seconds with Ram Barkai and Kieron Palframan as Witness/Observer.
Toks Viviers: 1 mile in 25 minutes, with Witness Ram Barkai and Observer Andrew Chin
Kieron 1.5km at 33:00 minutes
Ram 1.2km at 32:00 minutes
Andrew Chin 1km at 14:05 minutes
The group accomplished three ice miles (including the first official ice mile in Antarctica and the first sub-zero ice mile) and one 1km and helped push the limits of ice swimming to further North/South, higher elevations and lower temperatures.