Laetitia Berten
Laetitia Berten is a Belgian-born ice swimmer in New Zealand and event director of the Ice Swimming Championships, and Laboratory Special Projects Manager at Fulton Hogan.
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APPEARANCES
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PODCASTS
Aug 23, 2026
5:24
Leti's relationship with water goes back a long way, although it wasn't always accessible.
Laetitia BertenSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
I was in the southern part of Belgium, which is in the middle of the forest.
Laetitia BertenSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
There is not really any water around me, but my parents thought that it was really important for my brother and I to know how to swim.
Laetitia BertenSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
which means that once a week they would be driving for 45 minutes just to bring us to the nearest swimming pool for, I don't know how long it was from memory.
Laetitia BertenSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
It was not more than an hour of lesson and then driving back for another 45 minutes.
8:51
It's a physiological phenomenon called after-drop, where your body temperature continues to plummet after the swim.