
Lewis Gordon Pugh has raised eyebrows and made headline news around the world for his spectacular feats and remarkable resilience to the cold. Over 20 years Pugh has taken part in 17 long distance swims, including a 21 day slog along Sognefjord in Norway. But how does his body manage to endure such extreme cold ?"Perched on the edge of an Antarctic ice sheet, Lewis Gordon Pugh surveys the waves.
At 0 °C, water does not get much colder than the sea beneath him. Undeterred, Pugh unzips his jacket, strips down to his swimming trunks and dives in. Most of us would start to hyperventilate uncontrollably if we dived into such cold water. Pugh doesn"t even gasp in pain but instead starts swimming. In December 2005, when Pughtook this plunge, he went on to swim a kilometre in just over 18 minutes."
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Source: New Scientist
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