Seventy "hardy-men" take part in 59th annual swim in Vltava River

Some 70 "otuzilci" ("hardy fellows") braved the cold water of the Vltava River in the centre of Prague in a traditional St Stephen's Day swim on Monday. Among the participants were 13 women and also swimmers from Belgium, Germany and Slovakia. Also taking part were Stanislav Bartusek, who swam the English Channel this year in ten hours seven minutes and a veteran of the St. Stephen's Day swim, 92-year old Ladislav Nicek. This year has been Mr Nicek's 56th time in the 59-year old history of the swim.