The audience got goose bumps for free when Nils Rudolph went into the Salzgittersee on Saturday afternoon wearing only swimming trunks. Ice swimming for a good cause was the order of the day. Unfortunately, due to the corona pandemic, only a few guests and a few random walkers along the lake were able to cheer on the daring swimmers. Rudolph got into the tide for the German Bone Marrow Donor Center (DKMS).
Draw attention to the DKMS
“With my campaign I want to draw attention to the DKMS and collect donations”, Rudolph explains his campaign in Salzgittersee. The 26-year-old from Bleckenstedt is a member of the Wolfenbüttel swimming club WSV 21 and has been an ice swimmer for years. He has already contested national and international competitions. In close contact with DKMS, he had now started his campaign at Salzgittersee and recruited six sponsors in advance: Fitnessstudio Clever fit Salzgitter, SZ Energie, Maik Brunke Taxi Braunschweig, Denver Wolfenbüttel Brewery, public insurance company and Simon Wahl as private donors.
For Nils Rudolph, “decency and a sense of duty” are the reasons for his commitment to DKMS. He is also registered as a stem cell donor. The young man, who works as an electronics technician at Salzgitter Flachstahl, also does volunteer work in Salzgitter and Wolfenbüttel. He gives swimming courses for refugees.
DKMS depends on donations despite the pandemic
During the corona pandemic, DKMS stopped all public registration campaigns for potential stem cell donors. But the organization also relies on donations for many other tasks in the fight against blood cancer and in supporting blood cancer patients. For 15 minutes of ice swimming in Salzgittersee, Nils Rudolph had the promise of almost 400 euros in donations from his sponsors on Saturday. First, Rudolph checked the water temperature: 6.9 degrees. Then it went into the water. He previously had a lifebuoy attached to his body with a line. The 26-year-old also trains diving in the lake, among other things.
The ice swimmer can easily manage 20 minutes in the lake
“Last year I swam my best time of 45 minutes at 4.8 degrees,” he says. Nils easily managed the set 15 minutes on Saturday. “If you swim for 20 minutes, I’ll add something more”, the call from sponsor Simon Wahl echoed across the lake. No problem for Nils, after 20 minutes he came out of the water and had increased the donation amount for the DKMS to a good 500 euros. On Saturday, December 5th, there will be another ice swimming campaign in favor of the DKMS. From 3 p.m. in Hanover on and in the Maschsee.
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