Cold water immersion (CWI) purportedly reduces inflammation and improves muscle recovery post exercise, yet its effectiveness in specific contexts (ultraendurance) remains unclear. Thus, our aim was to study hematological profiles, systemic inflammation, and muscle damage responses to a specific post race CWI (versus control) during recovery after the Ironman World Championship, a culmination of approximately 100,000 athletes competing in global qualifying Ironman events each year. Twenty-nine competitors were randomized into CWI or control (CON) group. Physiological parameters and blood samples were taken pre race (BASE), after intervention (POST), and 24 (+1DAY) and 48 hours (+2DAY) following the race. Muscle damage markers (plasma myoglobin, serum creatine kinase) were elevated at post, +1day, and +2day, while inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 and total leukocyte counts were increased only at POST. CWI had no effect on these markers. Numbers of the most abundant circulating cell type, neutrophils, were elevated at post more so in CWI (p < 0.05, versus CON). Despite that neutrophil counts may be a sensitive marker to detect subtle effects, CWI does not affect recovery markers 24- and 48-hours post race (versus CON). Overall, we determine that our short CWI protocol was not sufficient to improve recovery.

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