Special thanks to International Ice Swimming Association USA for contributions to this story.
WESTON, Mass. - For most people, spending any time in cold water within an ocean or lake is limited to a Polar Plunge for charity or as a yearly tradition. For Regis College first-year student-athlete Vera Rivard (Springfield, N.H.), spending time in cold water recently led to a significant accomplishment, adding to her list of milestones in the world of open water swimming.
On Feb. 19, two weeks after competing at the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Swimming and Diving Championships, Rivard completed the Ice Mile, becoming the youngest documented United States Ice Swimmer at 19 years and 18 days young. At Pleasure Bay Beach in South Boston, with an air temperature of 39.38 degrees and a water temperature of 39.50 degrees, she completed the 1.004-mile course in 32 minutes and 31 seconds.
According to the International Ice Swimming Association USA (IISAUSA), an Ice Mile is described as one mile swum in sub-41 degree water temperatures wearing only a bathing suit, swim cap, and goggles. With family, friends, media, and Boston EMTs close by, Rivard completed the Ice Mile alongside fellow ice swimmers Elaine Howley and Natalie Lang, with IISA USA board members Martha Wood and Rena Demeo serving as observers.
Growing up on Lake Kolelemook in New Hampshire and spending summers on Lake Memphremagog in Vermont, Rivard started swimming at the age of five and has kept on going. She completed her first open water swim in July 2014, at the age of 10, as she swam the one-mile course at the Kingdom Swim in Vermont, plus she completed the three-mile event at Caspian Lake in Vermont in August 2014.
"I love to swim, especially the challenge of it, and I have fun," Rivard said. "Everyone has their thing, and I am in my happy place when I am swimming. I just kept progressing and was able to swim longer distances."
Her first serious foray into cold water swimming came at the 2018 Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival, where a two-lane, 25-meter pool is carved into the icy lake. That year, she participated in six different races ranging in distance from 25 meters to 200 meters. She also competed at the same festival in both 2020 and 2022 and said that preparation was key in successfully completing these cold water swims.
"I rely a lot on my training, but I know that I can prepare for only so much. It also takes an understanding that I am pushing my mental capacity and fighting the instinct in everyone to immediately get out of the cold water. I would prepare for this by either finding holes of water in an iced-over lake or sitting in an ice bath for 15 minutes," Rivard continued.
Beginning in July 2020, Rivard accomplished a milestone she trained for over the previous two years. On July 5, 2020, she completed the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in New York City, finishing the 45.9-kilometer course in seven hours and 57 minutes.
On Sept. 1, 2020, Rivard took 14 hours and 10 minutes to swim the 33.5-kilometers of the English Channel from England to France. On August 18, 2021, at 17 years and 198 days young, she swam from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland, a distance of 32.3 kilometers, in 14 hours, 10 minutes, and 53 seconds, completing the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, the second-youngest American to accomplish the feat.
With the successful completion of the Ice Mile, Rivard became the 37th person to achieve the Frosted Triple Crown (Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming + Ice Mile). She is the 57th American Ice Miler and the 500th Ice Miler in the world. In 2020, Rivard was inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame as both an honor swimmer and as a member of Team Rivard, which includes her father Kevin, her mother Darcie and her sister Margaret.
Rivard, a biology major on a pre-med track, will complete the spring semester of classes while also training for the 15-mile Circumnavigation Border Bumper Swim between Vermont and Quebec, Canada in the summer. She is also helping her sister Margaret train for her attempt at crossing the English Channel in September. Rivard did reflect favorably on her recent accomplishments.
"Completing the Triple Crown (of Open Water Swimming) was realizing a dream I had for years," added Rivard. "Looking back on everything, it was cool to finish the Ice Mile. I am happy with how it went. All three of us were nervous, but again we relied on our training and preparation to complete the swim."
For all of Rivard's achievements in open water swimming, visit her Openwaterpedia page here.
Regis College sponsors 20 intercollegiate sports, including women's swimming and diving, within NCAA Division III as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.