An extreme sports athlete took a frozen plunge in the centre of York as part of his training to break the world record for the longest time in full body contact with ice.
Andre Belibi set up a bathtub in St Sampson’s Square shortly after 12pm today (Thursday, January 11), filled it with cold water and ice, and got inside.
He planned to stay in the water, which he estimated to be around 2C, for 30 minutes but lasted 50 minutes in total.
The 37-year-old is from Switzerland and is in the UK this week raising funds and awareness for his world record attempt on February 24 in Calgary, Canada.
At present, the record is held by Valerjan Romanovski from Poland with a time of just under three and a half hours.
Andre is raising money for Autism Canada with the challenge. His 12-year-old daughter Kira, who lives with her mum in Colchester, is diagnosed with autism and he wanted to raise awareness of the condition.
“She sees things a bit differently,” the athlete said.
This week Andre and his partner Anniina Lintunen, 29, from Lancashire will travel the UK to gather support for the challenge.
“We’re just trying to get out there as much as we can to raise funds,” Anniina, who owns cold water therapy company Urban Tone, said.
Athlete previously ran across America
Andre first got involved with cold water therapy after running over 2,750 miles across America from Los Angeles to New York.
“It was great. It was a unique experience,” he said.
After the challenge, Andre said he was at a loose end and started to suffer from depression.
But he started using cold water therapy which helped him.
The therapy is said to help muscle recovery, your immune system and even improve your mood.
It involves brief spells of exposure to the cold of a matter of minutes. But Andre has undergone substantial training meaning he can withstand the cold for longer periods of time.
His training involves daily cold-water therapy and breathing work, helping to stay in control of the body while plunging in freezing temperatures.
'my faith in succeeding is higher than the fear' - athlete looks to world record attempt
Looking ahead to the world record, he said: “I feel OK. There’s a bit of nervousness but I believe my worthy cause and my faith in succeeding is higher than the fear.”
Andre spoke to The Press from inside his ice bath in St Sampson’s Square 10 minutes into the challenge.
“I feel good,” he said, his skin turning red from the cold.
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His advice to any preparing for a challenge is: “If you have a dream in mind just keep on going if it’s good.
“Believe in yourself and keep on going.”
To keep up to date with Andre’s world record challenge follow him on Instagram (@andre_belibi).
Visit his JustGiving Page titled Breaking the Ice Bath World Record for Autism for more information and to donate.
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