Snorkeling is known as a popular way to observe the spactacular world that exists just beneath the ocean's surface. But done in a bog — a wetland characterized by mossy, muddy and peaty soil — it is also a competitive sport. 

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Last week, bog snorkelers from all over Ireland competed in the 10th annual Northern Ireland Bog Snorkelling Championships at Peatlands Park, which is home home to a particularly rich sample of the fauna and flora found in peat bogs.

The event, hosted by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, was held on International Bog Day on July 27 to raise awareness of how important bogs are to Northern Ireland, according to the Daily Mail, which reports that exploitation has dramatically reduced the area once covered by peat lands.

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Competitors had to swim through 120 yards of muddy water using a mask, snorkel and flippers without using conventional swimming strokes, the BBC reported.

Want to witness more bog snorkeling? The Irish Bog Snorkelling Championships will be held on September 12-14 in County Monaghan, Ireland and the 29th World Bog Snorkelling Championships will be held August 24 in Llanwrtyd Wells, mid Wales in the UK as part of the World Alternative Games.

The current Bog Snorkeling World Champion is 18-year-old Dineka Maguire from Northern Ireland who has a time of 1 minute 23.13 seconds, according to Green Events. In 2013, the world championships included bog snorkelers from France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Eire and Mali.