A woman from Kendal has been putting her body through icy temperatures to compete on the national stage.

Victoria Hatch, aged 27, took part in the GB National Championships for ice swimming in Cheltenham over the weekend.

It was a weekend of success for Victoria, who earned herself two victories and two runner's up medals during the event.

She said: "I won my age category (25-29) for the 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke, and I was second in my age category (25-29) for the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke."

The Westmorland Gazette: Victoria is all smiles despite the freezing temperaturesVictoria is all smiles despite the freezing temperatures (Image: Victoria Hatch)

Victoria has recently joined Kendal Amateur Swimming Club (ASC) and also swims for the town's tri club too.

Kendal ASC now has over 190 swimmers on its roster, enjoying competitive success at county, regional and national levels.

Victoria's involvement at the national championships is the latest in a long line of glory for the club, although official times were not recorded.

That was due to the water reportedly not being cold enough for the sport, even if the temperatures recorded still sound positively icy from an outside perspective.

Victoria explained: "The water was seven degrees Celsius on the first day and 6.6 degrees Celsius on the Sunday.

"That's a few degrees warmer than usual, with it normally being below five degrees Celsius for these types of competitions."

The Westmorland Gazette: Victoria attempts to get warm at the national eventVictoria attempts to get warm at the national event (Image: Victoria Hatch)

Kate Steels, one of the organisers of the championships, described how the issue is not one they could have planned for without a 'crystal ball'.

"Climate change plays its part and unfortunately it was too warm," she said.

"But we still have fun, we get to race, and it's good training for team GB for the first ever European Championships in Romania."

The art of ice swimming is growing in popularity, with Victoria joined by the likes of Dan Wallace, a former Olympian who competed for team GB at the games in Rio in 2016.

It is not the first time that Victoria has put her body through a significant strain, having ran 100km in 24 hours for charity back in 2021.