Ice swimmer John Myatt is back in Gloucester and is basking in the warm glow that comes with being a world champion.

The 47-year-old has just returned from Murmansk where he won gold in the one kilometre 45-49 age group race at the World Ice Swimming Championships.

The remarkable success comes hot on the heels of being crowned Great Britain ice swimming 1K age group champion in January.

And what makes it all the more incredible is that these successes have come after Myatt took a break from competitive swimming for almost 30 years.

“To be a world champion is absolutely crazy,” said Myatt, “it was only my second race since being a junior and to win is just fantastic, it’s more than I could ever have hoped for.

“How many people can say they’ve won a gold medal? It’s awesome.”

And what made it even tougher was that it was cold, very cold, in Russia.

“The water was zero degrees,” continued Myatt. “It’s the coldest I’ve ever swum in.”

That didn’t prevent him clocking a hugely impressive time of 15 minutes, 23 seconds which saw him finish 16th overall in the championships.

“I know I can go faster,” said Myatt, who added that all the competitors received an “overwhelming reception” from the people in Murmansk who were very hospitable.

The overall winner was Bulgarian and former Olympian Petar Stoychev who completed in a stunning 12 minutes, 10 seconds.

Meanwhile Jon Coe, from Cheltenham, who trains with Myatt at Lake 32 at Cotswold Water Park, won silver in the 65-69 age group.