Dozens of swimmers dive into Prague's Vltava

Prague, Feb 4 (CTK) - Some 150 Czechs and foreigners took part in the 10th Branik Ice competition, also called the 1st Nicek Memorial, swimming in the Vltava River 1.9 degrees centigrade "warm" while the air temperature dropped down to 14 degrees centigrade below zero Saturday.

The longest tracks measured 1000 and 750 metres.

The Czech swimmers were joined by colleagues from Britain, Italy, Poland and Slovakia.

Italy was represented, among others, by Thomas W.Kofler who made it across the British Channel in the past.

The oldest participant was Bozena Cerna, 81.

Last year's competition was also participated in by nestor of Czech hardy-people, Ladislav Nicek, who died a few months later, in May 2011, aged almost 98. The memorial has been called after him.

The best known and oldest Czech hardy-people's competition in is the Aflred Nikodem Memorial that was held in 1923 for the first time.

It had to be scrapped in 1946 when not even axes were able to keep the river passable in the temperature of 25 degrees centigrade below zero.