Triathlete death rates during the swim portion surpass those of marathon runners!60% of triathletes are terrible swimmers. Most need fins and lessons.
My informal statistic reminds me of an eBay joke I once heard: 50% of the the junk on eBay is crap and the other 50% is fake crap!
I don't say that lightly: Their death rates during the swim portion of the triathlon are twice that of marathon runners.
In just three weeks or so we see these news stories:
August 2nd: Reuters: The chief executive officer of Deutsche Telekom Asia, Calvin Lee Wee Sing, died on Sunday after he got into difficulty during the swimming leg of the annual Singapore triathlon.
August 10: (UPI) OSHKOSH, Wis., Aug. 10 -- Police in Winnebago County, Wis., say a 43-year-old woman died while competing in the swim portion of the Oshkosh Triathlon.
July 18: Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal: In the past six weeks, a 54-year-old woman and - last Sunday - a 33-year-old man died during the swim portion of area triathlons, despite near-immediate efforts to rescue them...
Now, is this a red flag or what? From The Independent:
"... Now a study has revealed that the risk of dying in a triathlon, though low, is nearly double the risk of dying in a marathon. A study presented to the American College of Cardiology Conference showed there were 14 deaths among almost one million competitors, a rate of 1.5 per 100,000. A further four deaths occurred among non-officially recognised events.
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If I want to swim next year in the Pier to Pier race from Hermosa to Manhattan Beach, I have to swim a 500-yard test without a wetsuit for a L.A. County lifeguard to validate that I am qualified to swim with the other 900-racers in the event.
500-yards is probably the average swim distance for a triathlon and if triathletes are dying at such a rate why can't the USTS hold a triathlete to the same standard that the L.A. County Lifeguards do? No one has ever died during the Pier-to-Pier event and it is a 2-mile swim, not a 500-meter warm-up.
The USAT and USMS co-marketing efforts are not enough, insurance companies should mandate that the USMS and/or USA Swimming certify triathletes as knowing how to swim before they race.
This certification can be accomplished by the triathlete competing in a sanction USMS/USA Swimming event and producing the results of their meet as a passport for competing in a triathlon.
13 comments:
LOVE IT TONY!!
As a masters swim coach, I want to see every triathlete/open water swimmer confidently complete 500 - 1,000 and 1,500 yards/meters swims.
In a swim meet? All the better!
The other piece is learning backstroke which can be a real survival or at least a recovery stroke!
You are absolutely right. Back stroke can save your life when you are out of breath and are afraid of aspirating water.
I got to get a hold of USTS and their insurance overlords and talk to them about this.
I think the point that needs to be made to a lot of people is that wetsuits aren't magic! Yes they float, but not necessarily face up and they don't provide any propulsion, you do!
My coach has a lot of triathletes and she's always leaning on them to swim the 1500m or 1650 at meets for the real world distance experience... it's not open water, but it's good practice.
My other thought is that open water swim organizers should honestly rate the difficulty of their swims to keep people from getting in over their heads.
I like to see triathletes out swimming, I just want to make sure they're safe out there. Water, especially the ocean, is no joke.
I like the rating system idea. If a still bay in San Diego is a level 1, and Alcatraz is a level 5, then Zuma beach is a level 3 due to the entry and exit.
The place is vicious on a low tide.
When is your next IM event? That would be, ummmm never? So your a masters swimmer. How quaint... Toe the line, then spout off. Otherwise clam it.
I did my Ironman in Kona
I could do an Ironman easily within a year - three months to get in shape for the century, 6 months to 8 months for the marathon.
Show me that you can swim a 200 fly (Long Course Meters and then your insult will mean something.)
My Last meet I swam a 400LCM IM.
Can you do that?
I also did the 200 fly, the 200 back, the 50,100, 200, 1500-free. I participated in 7 relays during that weekend and I scored points in every event I swam.
Can you do that?
Why don't you post of a video of you trying on YouTube?
Then we can see how good you can swim.
Your sport has a problem, and it needs to be addressed.
tri.bassett -
I was a competitive triathlete for 18 years and coach(ed) masters swimming at 4 of the largest masters teams in California.
Tony is correct, there is a problem.
I would say that a program could easily be arranged to have a triathlete demonstrate their ability to swim 500, 100, 1500 meters, or even a 2.4 mile swim thru a USMS/USA Tri swim coach.
But throw one of those swimmers in a churning ocean of windswept lake and the safety situation changes - radically.
I am a champion of growing both swimming and triathlon. Everyday I encourage ordinary people to get out and train for events. But I want them to start when they are ready.
And its' more than job security I interested in here.
B
Hey tri.bassett - Ahelee has swam the English Channel, has done well over a dozen Ironmans and she is the sweetest person on earth...
She is credible, take her seriously!
Ouch. Masters swimmers are "quaint".
Obviously someone who's never been in a lane with some of my friends. :)
I can't say I've done a tri for over 20 years now... but I've done 3 Century rides with my son, and done a fair amount of swimming. I've also worked with a fair amount of triathletes in my time. We all seem to run and bike fairly naturally (me not as good as others), but swimming just isn't natural, and I have to agree with Tony... some people simply bite off more than they can chew.
Wavey, dark, and deep water is NOT where someone should be unless they KNOW they're safe. Not casting a blanket too far... but I personally am NOT going to enter an event that has the SLIGHTEST potential that I'm not going to come out alive.
Well... other than racing cars on tracks... but that's safe... right?
Amen on the certification.....
I swim for CSA (and race tri's for Seven Sins) and I really think there should be a swim test and rating for these events, especially the open ocean ones.
Unfortunately all three of these events were in WI, which is where both Rob and I are from, and the 33 year old male died in my hometown.
I coincidentally was home doing an unrelated triathlon and all I heard about all vacation was this guy dying, not good press for USAT in WI.
The story behind that guy is that he recently lost 100 lbs and was doing his first tri. He swam towards the kayak, grabbed ahold and then slipped beneath the water.
The only problem with doing the test is, how and when would you instate it and who would give the final ruling? What about if it is a destination tri? Would USAT have to refund the tri money or would the Newbies lose it. How about a cardiac health cert too? This is where it goes wrong most of the time.
In my professional life, I am involved in a job that is often referred to as the World's Premier Lifesaving Service and have dealt with tri's from that point of view from time to time. I would be much more comfortable doing my job at a triathlon if these certifications were put in place.
So there is the point of view from the middle of the pack. Call me a hacker, call me a kook but I represent the age groupers.
And before anyone gets touchy about me just representing the other 85% of the people that do tri's, I have been on the other side, pulling the lifeless body onto the boat and doing CPR at 45 knots until the helo got there on more occasions than I care to remember.
Rob and Ahelee, see you at Naples Tom morning I look forward to hearing your ideas and bouncing it off the great and powerful Nancy too!
Hi Erin, I just got in.
A cardiac health cert is not a bad idea for long distance swims.
Five people who jumped into the San Francisco bay for the Sharkfest immediate raised their hands and "I am done!"
None of these swimmers did a warm-up, they jump in and the water from the boat and it really hurt them since it was a total surprise how cold it was.
I think those five people are the key to how stressed the heart gets.
I have done the event 6-times and I am stressed when I jump in and It take me five minutes for my body calm down and get use to the water.
This is my take on certification: If a race is 200 meters or more, the athlete has to compete in a sanctioned pool meet through USA Swimming or the USMS, and meet a time standard.
If a meet is not feasible, than a heart cert and swimming pool cert from a lifeguard.
It has to be fleshed.
I have som great rescue stories from Alcatraz.
Make it a tiered system where 80% of triathlons wont require any certification. But at certain open-water distances (500M?) require a level 1 cert and and long distance require a level 2 cert.
I like that idea!
Perhaps we start with the USMS and USA Swimming, then find the Senate committee that oversees the NGBs and then have those officials lobby the USAT?
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