Mielno. They were swimming in the icy Baltic Sea. Nearly 9,000 people bathed in the sea

The rally began on Thursday and ended on Sunday with a grand final swim in the Baltic Sea. Despite the drizzle, the participants marched through the streets of Mielno, and then took part in a professional warm-up on the beach. After the final countdown, the walruses entered the water, the temperature of which was three degrees Celsius. From the stage it was reported that 8,893 people were bathing, the most in the history of these meetings.

Mielno, which together with the Cultural Center organized the rally, did not break the Guinness record for the number of walruses bathing in one place this year, which has been held by this city since 2015 anyway. Instead, it attempted to set a Polish record in eating tomato soup at the same time, which was served after bathing.

Mayor of Mielno Olga Roszak-Pezała thanked the participants for their participation in the jubilee rally.

– You are wonderful, you came to us from different places, not only from Poland, but also from abroad. There are walruses with us, among others FinlandCzech Republic, Slovakia, Hungarian and Germany. You are fantastic, you are loved. Without you, these zlotys would simply not exist. There are more and more of us. We are a team that meets in Mielno and no one doubts that Mielno is the capital of walruses, that Mielno is walruses, and walruses are us. No one will deny it – said Roszak-Pezała.

The oldest participant of the rally was 81-year-old Mr. Ryszard from the Sopelek club from Rzeszów, and the oldest participant, as last year, was 96-year-old Mrs. Krystyna from the Dębowa Kędzierzyn-Koźle club. The best dressed walrus club in the parade was the one from Suwałki.

See also in “Dzień Dobry TVN”: A unique meeting of swimming enthusiasts in Mielno. “Everyone can test themselves”

About 450 people watched over the safety of bathers, including doctors, paramedics, members of the West Pomeranian WOPR, TSO Mares Koszalin and TSO Tryton Kołobrzeg.

For all participants of the jubilee rally, the organizers prepared attractions – there were, among others. two jubilee balls, entering the Baltic Sea with the Sea of ​​Angels at sunrise, the 3rd Polish Championships in winter swimming with Valerjan Romanovski, a multiple Guinness record holder and author of books about swimming. There were runs, good music, saunas and discussion panels about different faces of swimming. A novelty was the first Morsmageddon in the country, which was attended by about 1,000 people. Traditionally, the Wedding Palace, where a marriage could be concluded valid only for the duration of the rally, and the Walrus Chillout Zone were open. It was played, among others, frostproof tournament. The musical star of the rally was Małgorzata Ostrowska.

Since 2004, Mielno (Zachodniopomorskie) for a few days in February has become the international capital of walruses, i.e. lovers of winter bathing from Poland and various corners of the world. During the rallies in Mielno, two Guinness records were set for the number of walruses bathing in one place. The first in 2010, when 1,054 people entered the water, and the second in 2015, still valid, when 1,799 walruses bathed in the Baltic Sea.

During the subsequent rallies in Mielno, more walruses entered the sea, but without setting records. Due to the restrictions introduced in connection with the pandemic of the disease COVID-19 in 2021 the event did not take place, but in 2022 two editions were combined. The event was attended by 8,576 people at that time.