Meet the Knaresborough woman competing at world ice swimming championships who was joined by Bear Grylls for Boxing Day swim

Jacqui Hargrave was in training for a global competition when adventurer Bear Grylls made an appearance at her icy Boxing Day swim. The writer, TV presenter and Chief Scout has given his support to mum-of-two Jacqui, as she prepares to represent Great Britain in the world ice swimming championships.
By Graham Chalmers
Published 10th Jan 2023, 11:50 BST

Jacqui, from Knaresborough, dubbed ‘Open Water Woman’, was swimming in a water temperature of just 5ºC (41ºF) wearing only a silicon cap, a pair of goggles and a standard swimming costume, when she and the GB team were joined at their Yorkshire training camp by Grylls.

"We are training really hard for the world ice swimming championships,” says open air swimmer Jacqui, whose popular blog ‘openwaterwoman’ has built up a readership of more than a quarter of a million.

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"On Boxing Day we were joined by Bear Grylls, who has been a massive supporter of our swimming. One of my colleagues in the GB team, Lara (Fawcett), is Bear’s sister.”

Jacqui Hargrave, an open air swimmer from Knaresborough, pictured second from right, with members of the GB International Ice Swimming team, and Bear Grylls, second from left.Jacqui Hargrave, an open air swimmer from Knaresborough, pictured second from right, with members of the GB International Ice Swimming team, and Bear Grylls, second from left.
Jacqui Hargrave, an open air swimmer from Knaresborough, pictured second from right, with members of the GB International Ice Swimming team, and Bear Grylls, second from left.

Jacqui, who once spent 14 hours in the chilly waters of Lake Windermere in a fundraising swim for St Michael's Hospice, was preparing for the IISA World Championship in the French Alps.

The event, organised by the International Ice Swimming Association, was founded in 2009 in Cape Town and this year takes place from January 12 to 15.

The IISA was formed in 2009 with a vision to make swimming in icy waters a new sport.

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Since she first took up outdoor swimming in 2013, Jacqui has survived run-ins with huge pike, a stand-off with a swan and being rescued by a boat in a lightening storm.

In 2020, the former worker in learning support at King James School in Knaresborough swam the 21 miles of Lake Windermere to raise funds for Harrogate charity St Michael’s Hospice that had offered “amazing care” for a close friend in her final days.

Jacqui also once trained for a swim across the English Channel on a diet of Bettys' Fat Rascals.

For the forthcoming championships, she has been training both indoors and outdoors, at a lake in Doncaster as well as a friend’s outdoor pool in Aberford. After his visit, Grylls took to Twitter to say how impressed he was with the team.

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"Great to swim today with some of the ice swimming GB team,” he wrote. “What they’re doing takes courage and determination, and I’m so proud of my sister Lara.”

"[The IISA] deserves recognition for all they stand for - and the community has so many heroes in it,” he added. “Well done you guys.”

As well as Jacqui and Lara, the GB team also includes Jonty Warneken, who hails from Kirk Deighton.

He became an open water swimmer after fighting back from a car crash near Ripley in 1994 when he had to have his left leg amputated below the knee.

To follow Jacqui’s journey, visit ww w.openwaterwoman.blogspot.com

Related topics:KnaresboroughSt Michael's HospiceGreat Britain