In 1987, a 30-year-old American swimmer called Lynne Cox swam across the "Ice Curtain" between the USA and the Soviet Union.

The Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait were only 2.7 miles apart, but divided by near-freezing water and Cold War rivalry.

Lynne Cox talks to Witness.

Her experiences are also recalled in her autobiography, Swimming to Antarctica.

PHOTO: Lynne Cox on the Bering Strait. (Copyright Rich Roberts)