Swimmers brave icy Moscow canal for water polo match (PHOTOS)
The ‘Friendship Cup’ swimming event took place as air temperatures plunged to -5°C
An open-air winter swimming event has taken place in the Russian capital, with athletes braving sub-zero temperatures to play water polo during the final day of the “Friendship Cup – Moscow 2026” festival.
The game, along with a swimming competition, took place in a 25-meter pool carved into the ice of the Moscow Rowing Canal in the city’s western Krylatskoye district, as the air temperature fell to approximately -5°C.
Ice swimming is a long-standing tradition in Russia. Each January 19, thousands take part in Epiphany swims to mark the baptism of Jesus Christ.
The festival ran from February 20 and included freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke swimming disciplines. It wrapped up on Monday, February 23, which is a Russian national holiday, Defender of the Fatherland Day.
The aqua-event dates back to February 23, 1951, when a mass swim was organized on the Moscow River by Osman Kumukov, a World War II veteran and rescue diver. The swim continued annually until 2006. The tradition was revived at the Rowing Canal in 2023.
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The Moscow Rowing Canal was the first canal dedicated to the sport to be built in the Soviet Union. It was completed in 1973, in time for the European Rowing Championship. It also hosted the 1980 Olympics rowing competitions and the 2014 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.