Ice swimming: Marion Joffle, the adventurer in icy waters from Lisieux, will now cross the Channel

“In this discipline, you slow down as you swim, because the body is paralyzed a little. “Despite “incredible sensations”, the paralysis therefore ended up winning, after 1550 m: “At one point, my body no longer distinguished air from water. I had water in my lungs. The race team pulled me out of the water. I couldn’t have done it alone.”

1550 meters out of 1609. Challenge almost accomplished but a bit of frustration on arrival. With all the same the satisfaction of [s’être] outdated” and to have had a new and extraordinary experience. Marion Joffle, member of a group of high-level swimmers, does not find her account in traditional pool competitions. “It amuses me, while the others are completely in their bubble. I blossom less in there, confides the young woman. In ice swimming, we are one big family. I do a lot of enriching trips and I meet people from all over the world with whom I share the same fiber. In fact, I swim for challenges like that. It excites me. »

This passion goes back to Marion’s childhood, marked by the discovery, at the age of 5, of epithelioid sarcoma, a rare tumour. A year later, little Lexovienne had the middle finger of her right hand amputated. “The fight against illness forged me. It made me want adventures. Crossing the English Channel is another. It is by exchanging with Philippe Fort, author of three crossings and precursor of swimming in cold water in France, that Marion Joffle discovers new challenges. “He suggested I try ice swimming. In January 2018, I did my first 1000m in Germany, in 3.8°C water. I liked the difficulty of the event and the new sensations, which go beyond swimming and whitewater swimming. »

A click and a success, despite the epidemic which slows down the momentum of the young woman. At the start of 2022, Marion Joffle made her recovery in cold water for the world championships in Poland. From February 4 to 6, the adventure turns to the harvest: five gold medals in his age category. And, all categories combined, the swimmer won another gold charm, three in silver and one in bronze. In all, she brings back ten of the twenty-nine French medals at the worlds.

Returning ill from Poland, Marion Joffle is upset in her preparation for the Ice-mile. Especially since with the spring, “the sea is 9 degrees so too hot”. But the ice swimmer has a little secret, tucked away in the premises of a refrigerated logistics company in Ifs, near Caen. “I was able to train in a small bathtub in a cold room. » Static swims at two degrees, twice a week.

His nickname: the “smiling penguin”

Nicknamed “the smiling penguin”, Marion Joffle has learned to master “the stabs of the cold. You have to breathe calmly, avoid hyperventilation, without cutting your breath either”. A subtle cardio-respiratory balance to be coupled with a management of… one’s fat mass, because fat helps retain heat. So many determining training parameters for his next challenge: the Channel crossing postponed twice in a row. But the third seems to be the good one, between August 18 and 26.

“I will leave from Dover, England, towards Calais. It’s 34 km in a straight line, except that we don’t swim in a straight line, because of the currents,” smiles Marion. Ten to fifteen hours of effort are looming. “The water will be between 16 and 18°C. We will have to endure hypothermia in the long term, ”she analyzes, accustomed to long-term swimming, she who has already participated twice in the 24 hours of swimming. Before embarking on the preparation of this feat, the Calvadosienne gradually recovers her numb fingers in the Arctic. To warm up, before leaving, she had treated herself… to a little polar trip with sled dogs.