Louis 'Dewey' Slater, 65, Dies After 1500 at U.S. Masters Swimming Nationals
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../35580.asp
Dewey & I had agreed to count for each other during the 1500 at Nationals but I ended up not entering the meet. I feel guilty for not being there with him, but also relieved that I did not have to witness the death of a friend.
I don't think he ever posted on this forum, but he did lurk a lot and was a regular reader of pwb's High Volume workouts.
At 2009 SC Nationals, he tackled the ultimate double, racing the 1000 and 1650 on the same day, placing top 3 in both. The next morning, he came back and finished 3rd in the 400 IM.
Several years ago, our main coach commented that he would prefer to die either on his bike, or while coaching a hard swim set. Dewey said he would want to go during a race.
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Very sorry to hear this. It seems relatively rare to die in a pool race comparing to open water? If the heart conditions are usually triggered by intense activities (it seems?), perhaps people prone to heart diseases (older, or with family history) should "take it easy" during races or avoid intense competitions? I understand many people love competitions (esp. members of this forum), but from the point of view of health and longevity, I wonder if there have been studies comparing between the effects of lifelong competitive versus lifelong fitness swimming? It would make an interesting subject.
Very sorry to hear this. It seems relatively rare to die in a pool race comparing to open water? If the heart conditions are usually triggered by intense activities (it seems?), perhaps people prone to heart diseases (older, or with family history) should "take it easy" during races or avoid intense competitions? I understand many people love competitions (esp. members of this forum), but from the point of view of health and longevity, I wonder if there have been studies comparing between the effects of lifelong competitive versus lifelong fitness swimming? It would make an interesting subject.
