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....
There is a big difference between spotting a struggling swimmer in the water and spotting someone suffering from heat exhaustion. Hyperthermia causes the brain to be starved of oxygen. You cannot rescue someone in that situation by spotting them with binoculars because one moment you are swimming and the next moment you are face down in the water unconscience. And considering the state of the brain, I HIGHLY doubt that you have 30 seconds to rescue (that is an opinion of course).
That isn't what happened to Christine Jennings. She says she got dizzy, vomited, veered off course, and thought she might black out. So she rolled onto her back, to be face-up in case she passed out, and waved her arms for a rescue. Nobody came. Eventually she decided the only way out was to swim to the finish. She staggered out of the water and directly into an ambulance, which took her to a hospital to be treated for hyperthermia.
Who knows what Fran Crippen did after he swam away from the person who probably should have pulled him but didn't? Nobody, which is inexcusable. Even if he had died as fast as you suggest, if he had stopped face down anywhere near a paddler, someone could have helped him. But they didn't have any paddlers.
And I agree that all forms of safety should be used, even binoculars (SHARK!), but that seems prefunctory. I mean, who suggested otherwise?
You did, by ridiculing the idea that safety personnel (not just "binoculars") could have made a difference. Glad you didn't mean it. A lot of races are going to occur between now and the time FINA gets around to adopting and implementing a maximum temperature rule, if it ever does, and the importance of safety personnel on the course is an issue that every race director and participant can focus on now.
There is a big difference between spotting a struggling swimmer in the water and spotting someone suffering from heat exhaustion. Hyperthermia causes the brain to be starved of oxygen. You cannot rescue someone in that situation by spotting them with binoculars because one moment you are swimming and the next moment you are face down in the water unconscience. And considering the state of the brain, I HIGHLY doubt that you have 30 seconds to rescue (that is an opinion of course).
That isn't what happened to Christine Jennings. She says she got dizzy, vomited, veered off course, and thought she might black out. So she rolled onto her back, to be face-up in case she passed out, and waved her arms for a rescue. Nobody came. Eventually she decided the only way out was to swim to the finish. She staggered out of the water and directly into an ambulance, which took her to a hospital to be treated for hyperthermia.
Who knows what Fran Crippen did after he swam away from the person who probably should have pulled him but didn't? Nobody, which is inexcusable. Even if he had died as fast as you suggest, if he had stopped face down anywhere near a paddler, someone could have helped him. But they didn't have any paddlers.
And I agree that all forms of safety should be used, even binoculars (SHARK!), but that seems prefunctory. I mean, who suggested otherwise?
You did, by ridiculing the idea that safety personnel (not just "binoculars") could have made a difference. Glad you didn't mean it. A lot of races are going to occur between now and the time FINA gets around to adopting and implementing a maximum temperature rule, if it ever does, and the importance of safety personnel on the course is an issue that every race director and participant can focus on now.
