ESPN article that discusses OW safety and temperature limits
Former Member
espn.go.com/.../open-water-safety-still-an-issue-at-worlds The release specifically informs open water swimmers that national team officials may advise them not to compete because of extreme temperatures or other issues, such as poor water or air quality. If they race anyway, they're on their own legally. And the criteria used by USA Swimming officials may be different than FINA's. USA Swimming's independently commissioned investigation also recommended a 31-degree standard, but added an index that takes air temperature into account. Any combination of air and water temperature exceeding 63 degrees has been deemed unsafe.
What's wrong with this picture? It's hard to know where to start.
Top open water swimmers have made it clear they think 31 degrees Celsius is far too high a maximum temperature. A petition signed last winter by numerous elite athletes that called for a 28-degree (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) ceiling was ignored. With the pace and exertion of this race -- a men's 10K takes roughly two hours -- just a few degrees can affect dehydration and heat exhaustion. I agree with the petition signed by the athletes. I think USMS should adopt the 28-degree (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) max temp limit for all USMS OW Championship races. As part of the bid the promoters would need to submit historical temperature data for the time of year that the event is to be held. If there is a history of say once in every four years of exceeding that limit (25% chance or more), then that bid should not be accepted.
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Former Member
www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/.../marcel-wouda-pulls-world-champion-from.html Swimmer Linsy Heister won't defend her world title in Shanghai on the 25 km open water. Coach Marcel Wouda pulled the 23-year-old from Eindhoven Thursday back. According to the coach, it is medically irresponsible to swim the longest distance at a water temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius.
Wouda believes that the world swimming federation Fina should take their responsibility. "Given the death case last year, also under very hot conditions, you would think that FINA has learned an important lesson. I as coach have the opinion that the FINA should cancel the event under these circumstances. It is irresponsible." Hopefully USMS Open Water National Championship awards committee is taking this seriously. There is no reason that all USMS OW championships need to occur in the summer months. As this thread and data show, the southern states could host events in Spring and Fall. Early and late summer the mid west and central Atlantic states. At the height of summer look to the upper midwest, the northwest, the mountain states, the California coast and New England.
www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/.../marcel-wouda-pulls-world-champion-from.html Swimmer Linsy Heister won't defend her world title in Shanghai on the 25 km open water. Coach Marcel Wouda pulled the 23-year-old from Eindhoven Thursday back. According to the coach, it is medically irresponsible to swim the longest distance at a water temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius.
Wouda believes that the world swimming federation Fina should take their responsibility. "Given the death case last year, also under very hot conditions, you would think that FINA has learned an important lesson. I as coach have the opinion that the FINA should cancel the event under these circumstances. It is irresponsible." Hopefully USMS Open Water National Championship awards committee is taking this seriously. There is no reason that all USMS OW championships need to occur in the summer months. As this thread and data show, the southern states could host events in Spring and Fall. Early and late summer the mid west and central Atlantic states. At the height of summer look to the upper midwest, the northwest, the mountain states, the California coast and New England.
