Meet Lars

​

I'm Lars Mack, from Nattheim in Ostwürttemberg, Germany. I originally trained as a butcher, served in the Bundeswehr, and later became a police officer. In 2003, I joined the swimming club SV Lohhof near Munich, but I didn’t discover my passion for winter swimming — or “Eisschwimmen” — until 2017. At that time, I had never swum in open cold water. My first competition was a 50‑metre race in water around four degrees Celsius. Instead of scaring me off, it ignited a fascination that has shaped my life ever since.

Since then, I’ve competed all over the world, including extreme-cold venues like Murmansk, where the air temperature dips below 1 °C and the water hovers around 0.3 °C. Swimming 1,000 m in these conditions — the so-called “Königsdisziplin” or king distance — has tested both my body and mind, and I’ve been proud to achieve world championship titles and win a world cup in winter swimming.

Beyond competing, I serve as the athlete representative for the International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA) since January 2020. For me, Eisschwimmen is more than a sport; it’s a lifestyle. It’s about pushing limits, embracing extremes, and connecting with a community that shares the same love for the cold.