Christine Jennings details her struggles in the Fran Crippen race to the 'Philadelphia Inquirer.'

Eney Jones sent me this article and I am very flattered that I am on her radar. In this piece Christine Jennings states she blanked out during the last 500-meters and has no recollection of it whatsoever.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Christine Jennings doesn't remember swimming the last 500 meters of the World Cup open-water 10K race in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

What she does remember is floating on her back, disoriented, hyperventilating, vomiting, and trying to signal for help.

"Where the hell is anyone?" she recalls thinking. She began to pray. No safety boat or jet ski was within sight.

"I wanted to either be pulled out of the water or have someone near me in case I passed out," Jennings said Tuesday from home in Longmont, Colo.

[Link]

This essentially is expert testimony and I bet she is told to shut up. Christine Jennings is doing the right thing by going to the press. She is standing up for athletes and the sport itself rather than letting those that created this fiasco dictate how it resolves.

In her account she tells of Fran Crippen giving advice as to how to stay hydrated after entering the team tent. Jengings mentioned that she had drank 2-liters of water before the race; (more than 1/2-a-gallon), and still she too nearly died. (What a way to start a race, elite athletes getting together and fleshing out strategies as how not to die.)

The focal point of my anger is how governing bodies are trying to duck this issue and hope it will disappear. They will simply say that they are going to thoroughly investigate this "mishap" and then they will let you know what they find out.

Well, there are three governing bodies doing investigations in this inadvertent homicide and the end result will be that none of them will find that they were responsible in any way. To escape blame they will point their finger at a coach, the promoter, or even Fran Crippen; in other words someone who does not have the resources to defend themselves.

Christine Jennings is featured in the far right of the photo above and the picture was taken by Scott Belland Photography © 2010.