Lewis Gordon Pugh - International BAD ASS

[The ClayTaurus]

http://www.epicswims.com/map.html

 

[The ClayTaurus]

During the British Antarctic Swimming Expedition in 2005 a team of scientists headed by Professor Tim Noakes of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa monitored Lewis's performance in extreme cold. They noted that Lewis's core body temperature rose significantly before his swims. The highest temperature recorded was 38.4°C degrees (normal temperature 37°C). And this was without Lewis doing anything except looking at the icy water. To put it in perspective, studies have shown that it takes top cyclists between 20 and 30 minutes of hard cycling to reach such temperatures.

Noakes has described this response as "anticipatory thermogenesis" - the creation of heat before an event. Professor Noakes is the first scientist to describe this reaction in humans. He believes that it is a Pavlovian response (remember the dog, the bell and the food experiments) resulting from years of training in cold water. Whatever the cause, it gives Lewis the edge. During his Arctic and Antarctic swims, Lewis lost 1ºC of core body temperature for every 10 minutes that he was in the water, so starting at 38.4ºC helped him stay in the water longer and complete the swims within safe parameters.

Noakes says "Lewis is able to survive in water which would disable most people in seconds. He is able to do so due to a combination of factors. When he enters the water, his core body temperature is extremely high (38.4°C) and he is able to maintain this temperature for up to 15 minutes. To my knowledge, this capacity has not been previously described. But most importantly he has an iron will and is genetically suited to handling extreme cold.

Lewis's swim at Deception Island in Antarctica was one of the most astonishing performances I have ever seen. I did not believe it possible to swim for 30 and a half minutes in 2°C to 3°C degree water in just speedo trunks."

Anticipatory Thermogenesis. Cool.

 

[The ClayTaurus]

I'm bumping this 'cuz i posted it last last night.