12/21/24
October 28, 2010
Organizer Blames Overexertion for Swimmer's Death: Although the death of American open water swimmer Fran Crippen has yet to be fully investigated, the organizer of the event in which he died has already decided overexertion is to blame. "We are sorry that the guy died, but what can you do?" UAE Swimming Association executive director Ayman Saad said in a statement. "This guy was tired and he pushed himself a lot." The water in the 10-kilometer race Saturday was reportedly 85 degrees. The winner of the race, Thomas Lurz of Germany, said, "There were many swimmers who had serious problems in the water."
Way to pass the buck there, Ayman.
/The offical Nod of Shame
posted by BornIcon at 02:58 PM on October 28, 2010
If you're like me and had no idea why blame should be on the organizers of an open sea swim meet, these are the money 'graphs from the article:
FINA, the sport's worldwide governing body, demands that swimmers racing in pools be subjected to temperatures no higher than 77-82 degrees. But, shockingly, there is no maximum limit for temperatures in open-water races such as the one in which Crippen died. Water temperatures that day were believed to be about 85 degrees. "The water was amazingly hot," the race's winner, Thomas Lurz of Germany, told the Associated Press. "There were many swimmers who had serious problems in the water."
One of them was fellow American Christine Jennings, who told news reporters that in the last 500 meters, she became disoriented and was hyperventilating, vomiting and trying to signal for help that never came, a stunning occurrence in an officially sanctioned international event. She somehow finished the race and was hospitalized before flying back home.
posted by NoMich at 03:01 PM on October 28, 2010
My original comment from 23 October still stands. How in the blazes can you conduct an event that has a reasonable chance of fatal or serious injury without adequate safety provisions in place. The quote that NoMich has cited is particularly telling: ...help that never came. What can you do, Mr. Saad? You can make damn sure you have enough safety boats in the water to cover the course. Maybe it would have cost you a few hundred bucks, but if there is never another event of this type in the Emirates, it will be too soon.
I guess I'm on a safety kick today, but after having worked around aircraft for most of my 40+ year career, I've had it drummed into my head daily. It only takes a couple of extra minutes to think things all the way through.
posted by Howard_T at 04:27 PM on October 28, 2010
85 degrees is hot? And 3 degrees above their max for pools is "amazingly hot"?
posted by MeatSaber at 08:50 PM on October 28, 2010
For a recreational pool, 85 degrees probably would be about normal, maybe even chilly - but when you're swimming ten kilometres, it's not what you want. I trained for a triathlon in the local university pool, which was notably colder than a typical public pool, presumably because the pool was mostly used for people swimming laps and never for mothers and toddlers splashing around. During the run-up to the triathlon, I was away from Oxford for a few days but didn't want to miss a swim session, so I used a recreational pool nearby and tried to hammer out 100 laps as I had been doing without much hassle for several weeks by that stage. I didn't even get half of them done before I had to stop because the water was just too warm.
posted by JJ at 04:10 AM on October 29, 2010
Uh, Ayman, isn't the point of an open-water swimming race to push yourself even though you're tired? Who the hell isn't going to be tired after swimming eight kilometres?
Sounds like someone's trying to redirect the finger of blame.