Full story:
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../25369.asp
Excerpt:
Passages: Fran Crippen, 26 - FINA, USA Swimming Release Statements -- October 23, 2010
FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates, October 23. SHORTLY after the FINA Open Water 10K World Cup swim today in the UAE, United States swimmer Fran Crippen, 26, passed away after falling unconscious during the race.
With the water in the mid-to-high 80s, the competitors all finished and noticed that Crippen had not crossed the finish line. Meet management brought in deep sea divers, who found Crippen unconscious just before the final buoy nearly two hours later. He was transported to the Fujairah Hospital and later died according to information provided to Swimming World. Conflicting reports state that he was found dead on the course.
Crippen had shown signs of slowing down during the third lap of the five-lap race. When Crippen did not immediately finish, a fact noticed by teammate Alex Meyer who screamed for help, the competing swimmers rushed back into the water to help with the search.
Information provided to Swimming World demonstrates that the water was likely too hot for the event as several swimmers were treated for heat exhaustion after the race....
Fran stopped and complained during the race. This didn't happen because people were unaware that he was in trouble. It happened because the danger of heat exhaustion wasn't taken seriously. I find your attitude frightening. Yeah, you can die in about 30 seconds if you have a heat stoke in the water, but we'll make sure that we get you in time. To the genius who suggested that binoculars would have fixed the problem, if you need binoculars to see someone they are too far away to be rescued.
I'm sorry -- in what part of my post did I say that people should have ignored Fran when he complained? My whole point was that better attention to the swimmers is needed, which yes, includes taking the risks seriously. All I am saying is that I would hate to see the conclusion be, "and so we can't run races when the temp is above X or below Y."
Fran stopped and complained during the race. This didn't happen because people were unaware that he was in trouble. It happened because the danger of heat exhaustion wasn't taken seriously. I find your attitude frightening. Yeah, you can die in about 30 seconds if you have a heat stoke in the water, but we'll make sure that we get you in time. To the genius who suggested that binoculars would have fixed the problem, if you need binoculars to see someone they are too far away to be rescued.
I'm sorry -- in what part of my post did I say that people should have ignored Fran when he complained? My whole point was that better attention to the swimmers is needed, which yes, includes taking the risks seriously. All I am saying is that I would hate to see the conclusion be, "and so we can't run races when the temp is above X or below Y."
