Swimming is an intense sport that requires so much practice, but one swimmer takes it further than the rest. In the Netflix documentary “Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive,” Johanna Nordlad tries to break the world record for distance swimming under ice with one breath.

This documentary takes place in Heinola, Finland, where, as a young girl, Nordlad always enjoyed being in the water, saying it just felt natural. 

The women’s world record for ice swimming had been 50 meters, and the men’s record was 80 meters. Johanna trains to beat both the men’s and women’s scores, and she ends up with a distance of 103 meters to set a new record.

Though Covid-19 reduces her ability to train in public pool areas, by March 2021 she is ready. Her team cuts holes in the ice every 10 meters for her to surface if she has trouble. 

With Nordlad in the water swimming, her team counts every meter as her mother watches nervously. She passes the 82-meter mark but keeps going. In the end, Nordlad  completes the 103-meter, one-breath ice swim, setting a new world record for men and women.

Nordlad shows if people have enough determination to accomplish a goal, they can do it with enough practice. She says that beating the men’s and women’s records weren’t important, but pushing boundaries and learning something is.