Roughly 80 swimmers braved 4-5C water temperatures in the Serpentine on Christmas morning in the annual Peter Pan cup race.
Participants aged 17 to one in their late eighties set off shortly after 9am on Sunday for the 100 yard swim in the annual event, which was first held in 1864.
The cup is named after James Matthew (JM) Barrie, the Scottish novelist who wrote Peter Pan, who used to walk around the water way which straddes Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. In 1903, Barrie decided to sponsor the race and present the winner with a medal.
The Serpentine Swimming Club now runs the cup, which is only open to members, one behalf of the Greenbury family - whom Barrie handed over the running of it to after 30 years of service.
Katie Berlyn Holmers set the fastest time to win the cup with another club regular, octagenarian Yvonne, finishing second.
A statement on the club website said: “Not many swimmers have won the cup on more than one occasion. A notable exception is Mr FW Maggs, a butler who first bagged the trophy in 1920, and then again in 1955 — at the age of 71.”
