Olympian Cody Miller Among Competitors In Successful Inaugural 2025 Minnesota Ice Swim

This was a first-time event that was really cool, both literally and figuratively.

On Feb. 22, dozens of swimmers took the plunge for the inaugural Minnesota Ice Swim at Lake Johanna.

One of the participants was former U.S. Olympian Cody Miller, a gold and bronze medal winner at the 2016 Rio Games.

Miller told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he took ice baths in college to prepare for the Olympics, and that ice swimming has “strong neurological effects.”

However, Miller also told MPR News that this was the first ice swimming event he ever competed in.

“I like trying hard things so when I got invited to this event, I was like, ‘Wow,’ that seems like it’s gonna be a wildly different challenge,” Miller said. “I’d never raced in cold water before.”

Roughly 200 people signed up for the event and came from all across the country, including warm weather states California and Florida.

A two-lane, 25-meter pool was cut into the lake by volunteers and contractors, and participants competed in 25, 50 and 100-meter swims throughout the event. The water was a brisk 36 degrees, but there were warming tents for participants once they got out of the water.

Organizers said it is one of two competitive ice swims in the U.S., with the other being in Vermont.

The short-term goal of hosting such an event is to promote ice swimming and the health benefits it can offer.

Ice swimming has been found to increase circulation, boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and muscle pain, and increase metabolism.

In the bigger picture, organizers hope that such events can get recognized by the International Ice Swimming Association and ultimately one day have ice swimming be an Olympic event by the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.