Bog Snorkeling: Crazy, but Cool!

Have you ever wanted to swim in a murky trench? Well, you can. And you can compete in it too. It’s called bog snorkeling. All you need is a snorkel, a mask, a pair of fins, and a wet suit. The wet suit is optional. Pretty simple, right?

The Start of Bog Snorkeling

This may be the first time you’ve ever heard of such a sport, but it’s not anything new. Bog Snorkeling began in in the United Kingdom in 1976 when some friends came up with this idea at their local pub. Nine years later, the first World Bog Snorkeling Competition began in 1985. Since then, there have been annual World Competitions for Bog Snorkeling at the Waen Rhydd peat bog in Wales. These contestants are more than tough, they are adventurous.

How does Bog Snorkeling Work?

Each contestant takes turns swimming two lengths of a 60 yard water-filled trench. They can only use leg power, no arms. The goal is to be the fastest snorkeler, reaching the lowest recorded time. And of course, each competitor dreams of beating the World Record of 1 minute and 22 seconds set by Kirsty Johnson in 2014.

World Bog Snorkeling Championship 2016

Bog snorkelers came from around the world to compete in this exciting competition. Some are from Sweden, England, Poland, Holland, Australia, Japan, Czech Republic, USA, Canada. The men's World Championship winner for 2016 goes to Daniel Norman with a time of 1:26.38 seconds. He is an 18 year old boy from Wolverhampton, England. The women's World Championship winner for 2016 goes to the Swedish snorkeler, Anna Lohman, with a time of 1:33.10 seconds.