Chris Ballard turns cold plunge obsession into new book, ice swimming quest

CBS Saturday Morning put Chris Ballard in an ice bath and turned his latest book launch into a live demonstration of the cold-plunge craze. The segment paired the writer, competitive swimmer and self-described cold plunge expert with his new book, The Plunge: Maverick Swimmers, an Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water, while Errol Barnett previewed the exchange as a first-ever ice bath interview that lasted nine minutes in 35° water.

Ballard’s publisher says the book comes from a career that spans two decades as a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and four previous books, including One Shot at Forever. Ballard’s own website calls The Plunge his fifth book and says it was published June 9, 2026. Simon & Schuster says reporting the book took him from cold plunges to competing alongside Olympians at the Ice Swimming World Championships, a path that turns a wellness ritual into a serious athletic pursuit.

Ballard’s resume gives the trend a more concrete edge. His website says he became the U.S. national ice swimming champion in his age group in 2024 in the 50m and 100m freestyle, then competed in the 6th International Ice Swimming Association World Championships in Italy in 2025. Barnett said he and Ballard swam together in Coney Island, adding a New York backdrop to a sport that usually lives far outside the mainstream gym-and-spa circuit.

The broader story is less about a book release than about how cold exposure has been packaged for a mass audience. Ballard’s experience suggests that ice water can be a genuine athletic discipline, with training, competition and measurable times, not just a social-media stunt. But the segment also underscores the gap between a hard-earned specialty and the wellness industry’s bigger promises, where the leap from temporary discomfort to sweeping health claims can outrun the evidence.