Crossword Genius

What swimmer may do, chilly and damp, immersed in chlorine? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

crawl

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'what swimmer may do' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'chilly and damp immersed in chlorine?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'chilly' could be 'raw' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'raw' is found in the answer.
'chlorine?' could be 'cl' (chemical symbol) and 'cl' is present in the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for crawl that I've seen before include "Make no haste" , "inch" , "Go on hands and knees" , "Scramble on all fours" , "be overrun" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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