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.
This much we know: the risk if very small, it is not predictable in relation to who or when, but of course healthy lifestyle leads to lower overall risk. Studies of sudden death in athletes indicate if the person is young (less than 35-40 or so) often there's an unrecognized heritable issue. If the age is 45 or greater, almost always it is unrecognized coronary artery disease.
Those words bear repeating. Heart disease can affect swimmers, young and old - and everyone who swims seriously should be checked regularly by a physician and should be watchful for and attentive to the many risks and signs of heart disease, no matter how subtle, as all too often the risks go unrecognized.
To underscore the importance of preventive heart care for everyone, no matter how fit, it's worth noting this is not the first time we've had a tragic loss in Southern California: forums.usms.org/.../t-8056.html
You can learn more by following this thread: forums.usms.org/showthread.php ... In particular, note the link to the American Heart Association's screening tool ...
This much we know: the risk if very small, it is not predictable in relation to who or when, but of course healthy lifestyle leads to lower overall risk. Studies of sudden death in athletes indicate if the person is young (less than 35-40 or so) often there's an unrecognized heritable issue. If the age is 45 or greater, almost always it is unrecognized coronary artery disease.
Those words bear repeating. Heart disease can affect swimmers, young and old - and everyone who swims seriously should be checked regularly by a physician and should be watchful for and attentive to the many risks and signs of heart disease, no matter how subtle, as all too often the risks go unrecognized.
To underscore the importance of preventive heart care for everyone, no matter how fit, it's worth noting this is not the first time we've had a tragic loss in Southern California: forums.usms.org/.../t-8056.html
You can learn more by following this thread: forums.usms.org/showthread.php ... In particular, note the link to the American Heart Association's screening tool ...
