OFFBEAT
Photos: Competitors get down and dirty at Britain's bog snorkeling championships
Annual event sees competitors race in water-filled trench cut through a peat bog
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2 MIN READ
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London: Intrepid athletes donned snorkels and slithered through slime on Sunday during one of Britain’s quirkiest sporting events: the World Bog Snorkeling Championships.
AFP
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The annual competition in the tiny town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, sees competitors race to complete two lengths of a 60-yard (55 meter) water-filled trench cut through a peat bog.
AFP
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They can use flippers on their feet, but conventional swimming strokes are banned.
AFP
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A competitor dressed as Alice from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
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Some contestants accessorized their snorkels, masks and flippers with more flamboyant touches -- one carried a giant plastic toad on their head, another had a bathing cap adorned with flowers.
AFP
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Spectators also got in on the fun, with two wearing pink cardboard boxes proclaiming them to be limited edition bog-snorkeling Barbie and Ken.
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Competitor Louise Palmer dressed as Barbie.
AFP
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Competitors at the 35th annual contest were hoping to beat the time of current world record-holder Neil Rutter, who won in 1 minute, 18 seconds in 2018.
AFP
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A competitor reacts while taking part in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Mid Wales, on August 27, 2023.
AFP
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A competitor takes part in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Mid Wales, on August 27, 2023.
AFP
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A competitor reacts upon entering the water to take part in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Mid Wales, on August 27, 2023.
AFP
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A competitor takes part in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Mid Wales, on August 27, 2023.
AFP
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