Sad news: Fran Crippen, 26, passes away

Ah good point Rick. You're probably right.

Of course, entry fees are not the financial incentive. They do have qualifying races for the FINA World Cup. Then if you qualify for the circuit, you can receive prize money, but only if you complete at least six of the eight races including the last one (this UAE race was the mandatory last race). As in any professional sport, advertising is the financial incentive for people to organize competitions, and prize money and appearance fees are the incentives for people to compete in them. What these professional athletes need, apparently, is a union. We had a professional swimming federation formed in 1954. It was called the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation it governed all races in the USA and Canada and the rest of the Americas. It made sure we were protected in our races. FINA is new to long distance swimming and could have learned form the WPMSF. The other Federation that looked after distance swimmers was an organization in Egypt. The were also very good at protection of the swimmer.

I cannot believe that no one is certain what the actual water temperature was. It isn't all that surprising to me. First of all, water temperature will vary some depending on where (and when) you take the measurements. Secondly, at this point the organizers have every incentive to low-ball the actual temperature. Swimmers generally have a pretty good sense of water temperature, although I think the air temperature can make a pretty big difference in both perception and the effects. I would trust their statements at least as much as the organizers'.

I don't know that you can effectively track/site swimmers. The best solution is to implement rules on water temperature and races. Argh!! I couldn't disagree more. I do open water swimmers all of the time with people of many abilities, ages, and fitness levels. They spread out over a long area, they swim on their backs, for all I know some of them even stop to chat. And yet I have never been at a race when anyone drowned. Instead, there are kayaks, canoes, etc., everywhere, and they pick up people who get into trouble. The organizers get volunteers who have the requisite training and they keep an eye on us. This isn't that hard, folks, it's done all of the time, and it needs to be done for the elite swimmers, too. Now someone is going to be telling me I can't do 60 degree or lower OW swims because of the risk. Feh. Life is risky; let's just take the proper precautions.

Elite OWS are aware that full body suits will lead to over-heating so I doubt that anyone was wearing one at this race. I am guessing that no studies have been conducted to show the amount of dehydration that occurs in warm water, just speaking personally though I get zapped really quickly when the temperature is in the mid 80's. I don't know that you can effectively track/site swimmers. The best solution is to implement rules on water temperature and races. Provide specific guidance on how water temperature needs to be taken and make someone SIGN the temperature certification. I cannot believe that no one is certain what the actual water temperature was.

Argh!! I couldn't disagree more. I agree with you and disagree with lefty on this point, especially with respect to the type of race at issue here. These races are 4-5 laps around a 2000m-2500m course. They have tens, not hundreds, of competitors. The entire course is visible from the start/finish line. Even if you don't number the swimmers, and especially if you do, each swimmer is easy to identify with ordinary binoculars. You don't need fancy technology, or dogs, or helicopters. All you need is someone at the starting line with a piece of paper, a clipboard, and a pen; a few people with binoculars (or spotting scopes) and walkie-talkies on the shore and at the feeding dock; some kayakers in the water who can both keep watch themselves and take instruction via their own walkie-talkies from the binocular people; and someone at the finish line with the swimmer checklist s/he made at the start. Keeping track of these fit, experienced swimmers should be trivially easy, which is why this death is so appalling. Elite OWS are aware that full body suits will lead to over-heating so I doubt that anyone was wearing one at this race. The photos trout posted do show a lot of bare torsos on the men.

from the pics there looks like a lot of jammers used by the men but what is interesting is the # of caps the men were wearing. In 100 degree weather u would think that not that many men would wear caps that keep in the heat from the body. Only if there was a hair problem. If I looked at the pics correctly. The winner had a cap on and he has very short hair.

Swimmers generally have a pretty good sense of water temperature,... I would trust their statements at least as much as the organizers'. I would trust the swimmers statements more than the organizers. I can not understand why it took so long for the event management to understand that a swimmer was missing. This is a complete lack of safety protocol. It seems that it was his fellow swimmers that made the connection, and went on their own to help. If he drowned, this was an outrageous and unexcusable mistake on the part of the event organizers. I am sure that a waiver was signed so, vindication will be difficult. If a sudden medical issue was part of the problem there is still no excuse for not providing adequate monitoring of the course. I would hope that the elite swimming community would use a boycott to firmly establish that the athletes safety is a priority.

Argh!! I couldn't disagree more. I do open water swimmers all of the time with people of many abilities, ages, and fitness levels. They spread out over a long area, they swim on their backs, for all I know some of them even stop to chat. And yet I have never been at a race when anyone drowned. Instead, there are kayaks, canoes, etc., everywhere, and they pick up people who get into trouble. The organizers get volunteers who have the requisite training and they keep an eye on us. This isn't that hard, folks, it's done all of the time, and it needs to be done for the elite swimmers, too. Now someone is going to be telling me I can't do 60 degree or lower OW swims because of the risk. Feh. Life is risky; let's just take the proper precautions. 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.

As a open water competitor I don't like Jet ski's zipping up and down the course while the race is on, they make waves and they do have fumes. They would be held in reserve to transport a swimmer back to shore in case of trouble. Nothing against tracking technology but I personally want to limit what is on my body. I would prefer plenty of old fashioned Kayak support with the jet ski's and or motor boats strategically located to assist and respond if notified of a swimmer in trouble. Make sure the kayak swim support is well versed in the safety protocols. Have a triple method of reporting an issue 1. Cell phone or walkie talkie 2. Some sort of visual method a flag that would be waved for example and 3. An audible method, one of those compressed air horns that could be sounded. Have several kayak supports be specifically tasked to monitor trailing swimmers. Regarding the swim suits, at the FINA level not USMS, all suits had to be textile material no rubberized suits, however specifically for open water they could be chest to ankle. This was a compromise specifically to help protect open water swimmers from Jelly fish and sea lice etc. www.fina.org/.../index.php Note the asterisk for OWS only.