FINA seems ready to set a maximum water temperature for open water swims at 31 degrees centigrade(87.8 Farenheit.) www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../35137.asp Further proof that swimmers welfare is not FINAs # 1 priority.
I lived in Houston for 21 years. One can accommodate to activity in high temperature and humidity states.I am not sure that same accommodation is possible in hot water, where sweat evaporation as a cooling adaptation is impossible.Ask anyone who swam at Nats in The Woodlands in 2007 who had an afternoon event if hot weather affected their performance.
Do running races get called off when it is TOO HOT ?? I don't think so ! I have run1/2 & full marathons in 90 degree temps !!
If you're implying that OW swimmers should just suck it up and deal with warm water temperatures, I think that is an extremely foolish sentiment to put it (very) mildly. Cooling mechanisms for swimmers and runners are completely different.
31C is nearly 88F, which is ridiculously hot to practice in (possibly with generous intervals and a coach spraying cool water on the swimmers), much less RACE long distances without stopping. How many 5K or 10K swim races have you done at 88 degree water temperatures?
I find it interesting and illuminating (in so many ways) that the study cited by FINA in justifying a 31 degree Celsius maximum in open water appears not to be publicly available for review. A decision that seems so counter-intuitive to our cumulative experience requires an unflawed study with appropriate numbers and types of test subjects, a vigorous protocol, and a clear conclusion. And, because the study was commissioned by two national governing bodies--neither with a sterling reputation for unbiased decision-making--I am highly skeptical right out of the gate, without even seeing the study results yet.
I lived in Houston for 21 years. One can accommodate to activity in high temperature and humidity states.I am not sure that same accommodation is possible in hot water, where sweat evaporation as a cooling adaptation is impossible.Ask anyone who swam at Nats in The Woodlands in 2007 who had an afternoon event if hot weather affected their performance.
How about the heat in Mesa, during 2011 Spring Nationals? The heat affected me so much, I unable to compete at all on the final day. And, it took me a couple of weeks to recover. :badday:
Do running races get called off when it is TOO HOT ?? I don't think so ! I have run1/2 & full marathons in 90 degree temps !!Two wrongs don't make it right. I dont know who FINA's decision serves. I have seen other commentators discuss money and the Middle East, but these events can't make organizers and sponsors that much money.
i think that, someday in the future, we start to look back in these days of events run in too much heat in the same way that minds have changed around concussions and head injuries: a past that we are almost ashamed of for our collective ignorance.
Maybe it's time the swimmers collectively decided not to participate in events where the water temperature is at an unsafe level. FINA can host all of the events they want in warm water, but if the majority of athletes don't show up, they might have second thoughts about their water temperature rules.
Aside from this making a statement to FINA that their maximum water temperature is unacceptable and dangerous, at the end of the day each of the athletes must take their own health into account when deciding how much risk they are willing to take in order to compete in an OW event.
FINA seems ready to set a maximum water temperature for open water swims at 31 degrees centigrade(87.8 Farenheit.) www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../35137.asp Further proof that swimmers welfare is not FINAs # 1 priority.
What really irks me about this decision is that the maximum water temperature FINA has announced is about the same as the water temperature that contributed to Fran Crippen's death. This just doesn't make sense!
What is the point in even having the water this hot?
I don't think the point is having water this hot, the point is that countries want to host events and the water temp is this hot in those places.
