this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026
66 points (100.0% liked)

pics

28596 readers
787 users here now

Rules:

1.. Please mark original photos with [OC] in the title if you're the photographer

2..Pictures containing a politician from any country or planet are prohibited, this is a community voted on rule.

3.. Image must be a photograph, no AI or digital art.

4.. No NSFW/Cosplay/Spam/Trolling images.

5.. Be civil. No racism or bigotry.

Photo of the Week Rule(s):

1.. On Fridays, the most upvoted original, marked [OC], photo posted between Friday and Thursday will be the next week's banner and featured photo.

2.. The weekly photos will be saved for an end of the year run off.

Weeks 2023

Instance-wide rules always apply. https://mastodon.world/about

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Stève Stievenart, nicknamed "the Seal" ("le Phoque"), is a swimmer who specializes in extreme open-water swimming. His nickname comes from his build and his particular diet. To protect himself from the severe cold of the waters he faces, this resident of Wimereux (North of France) eats almost exclusively fatty fish, like seals [do]. https://podcasts.afp.com/afp-audio-sur-le-fil/202408112300-steve-le-phoque-lhomme-qui-dompte-les-mers-rediff

Triple Corona del Fin del Mundo (Triple Crown of the End of the World):

  1. Cruce a Nado del Canal Beagle, 1.7 km between Chile and Uruguay in 53 minutes 24 seconds in 8°C water
  2. Cruce a Nado del Estrecho de Magallanes, a 5 km crossing within Chilean waters in 1 hour 50 minutes 2 seconds on April 11th
  3. Cruce a Nado del Río de la Plata, a 42 km crossing from Uruguay to Argentina in 17 hours 59 minutes 33 seconds on April 19th
    https://dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/steve-stievenart-is-first-to-achieve-triple-corona-del-fin-del-mundo/

Short vertical video in French here: https://www.franceinfo.fr/sports/sport-et-loisirs/steve-stievenart-devient-le-premier-nageur-a-boucler-la-triple-couronne-du-bout-du-monde_7950017.html

top 29 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 53 points 1 month ago

You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.

[–] paranoid@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The Frenchman covered his body with Vaseline to reduce the friction on his body and Sudocrem to combat the effects of the saltwater on the skin.

From a Newsweek article, and because I was curious. I'm still not sure why that bit of skin is exposed, though...

[–] Mesophar@pawb.social 19 points 1 month ago

If you mean the upper part of the torso around the neck, I'm guessing it probably wore away from the motion of swimming

[–] tacosanonymous@mander.xyz 4 points 1 month ago

I imagine you have to have some pores left unclogged?

[–] oce@jlai.lu 1 points 1 month ago

Maybe just unfinished?

[–] almost1337@lemmy.zip 16 points 1 month ago

What le Phoque?

[–] fedikitty@piefed.social 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I almost thought they meant he eats seals.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yea I had to read it 3 times - it's ambiguously worded.

"like seals do" would've been better.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's a translation from French so it's not perfectly natural.

[–] Sxan@piefed.zip 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

eats almost exclusively fatty fish, like seals.

... but... seals aren't fish!

Ooooh, "... like seals [do]"

[–] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

PEAK MALE PERFORMANCE

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

54 minutes in 8c water…wow.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

He did lower in 2024 alone according to https://dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/steve-stievenart-from-imshof-induction-to-immersion-and-beyond/:

  • February: completed an Ice Kilometer in 1°C water on the Antarctica Peninsula at the IISA Antarctica Ice Swimming Adventure
    [...]
  • December: completed an Ice Zero Mile in Ship Creek, Anchorage, Alaska in 0.8°C water in 36:31
[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 month ago

1c!!!!!!!!

Shudder

[–] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 5 points 1 month ago

Dude also crosses the Channel on a regular basis. Definitely one of the best athletes in human history.

[–] schnokobaer@feddit.org 2 points 1 month ago
  1. Cruce a Nado del Canal Beagle, 1.7 km between Chile and Uruguay

I would think the author confused 1. and 3. here and it should be Chile and Argentina

[–] matelt@feddit.uk 1 points 1 month ago

Bonne chance à l'ami Stève!