“Winter swimming has become a way of life”
Our February cover star is outdoor swimmer and editor Katie Kingwell. The cover photo was taken by fellow swimmer John Weller. We caught up with Katie to talk about her swimming background, cold water romance and how she feels about being a cover model!
How does it feel to be the Outdoor Swimmer cover model?
It’s my greatest achievement to date.
How long have you been outdoor swimming and how did you get into it?
I’ve been swimming outdoors about seven years and swimming year-round about five years. It’s all thanks to lovely Brockwell Lido in south London, which has been opening all year for the past five years. Winter swimming in particular has become a way of life and I’ve made some fantastic friendships through it. It’s opened the door to swimming adventures such as SwimTrek holidays and the Dart 10k.
Where is your local swim spot?
See above 😉
Katie and Marcus swimming down Brockwell Lido on their wedding day
Why is Brockwell Lido so special to you?
I met my husband, Marcus, through winter swimming at Brockwell Lido. On our wedding day last September we had a special wedding swim and were joined in the water by about 50 guests! We even had matching wedding swimsuits made by our friends Dawn and Peter, who have a wonderful swimsuit company called KinaMara. After the swim we had our reception at the Lido Cafe. It all felt pretty special and we were so glad we could include the lido in our wedding celebrations given what an important part it plays in our lives.
Katie and Marcus were blessed surrounded by swimming friends
Thank you to KinaMara for the wedding photos.
Jonathan Cowie
Jonathan is a year-round skins swimmer with a particular love of very cold water. He has competed in ice swimming competitions around the world. He is a qualified open water coach with a particular love of introducing new swimmers to the open water.
