It's imperative that the USAT demand swim time standards for all first time triathletes.
From the Examiner.com:
There has been another death due to triathlon this past Sunday, again during the open water swim portion. A first time triathlete, Kim Schmidt was found dead in Lake Winneconne in Wisconsin on Sunday, the third death this summer during triathlons in Wisconsin alone.
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Has the USAT; (US Governing body for triathlons), reached a point where a swimming related death occurring once a month or more has become an acceptable casualty?
I stand by my comment that all first time triathletes must meet a set swim-time standard by way of a sanctioned USA Swimming swim meet or a United States Masters Swimming swim meet before competing in a triathlon that contains a swim longer than 500 meters.
I think the end result of the USAT instituting such a rule would not only prevent senseless tragedies and higher insurance rates but would grow each of our sports exponentially.
A triathlete should be a master off all three events before combining them as one. Hence, athletes must master the swimming portion.
9 comments:
An interesting article that would seem to point that it wouldn't matter if people were cert'ed to swim.
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A recent New York Times article reported on a number of recent deaths associated with triathlons, all associated with swimming. These include:
*A 60 year old male at the Spudman Triathlon in Burley, Idaho
*A 52 year old male at the New Jersey State Triathlon
*A 32 year old male at the New York City Triathlon
Overall, eight deaths have occurred in triathlons during this year, and all occurred during the swim portion of the event. Twenty of the total 25 deaths associated with triathlons as recorded by USA Triathlon occurred during the swim portion of the events.
So, what’s the deal with swimming?
The swim portion of the triathlon is associated with the highest potential rate of injuries; however, data from the Ironman Triathlon World Championship tells us that only 3% of all medical visits at the Hawaii event are associated with swimming injuries. Given that 25-30% of all starters there end up seeking medical attention, the total number of swimming injuries seems small.
Fatalities are not common with triathlon or other endurance events, but they do occur. In marathons, deaths related to heart problems have been reported to occur at the rate one death per 50,000 runners. These are spread out throughout the course, with most occurring near the finish.
Sudden deaths related to exercise have typically been considered to fall into two major divisions: those over the age of 35 are almost always attributed to coronary artery disease or “clogged arteries,” and those under the age of 35 have typically been associated with a variety of heart defects, both anatomic and physiologic.
So, back to swimming: Are these deaths all related to coronary artery disease? And why do they all occur during swimming and not other portions of the race? Several theories have been suggested. A lot of suspicion is placed on a peculiar heart rhythm disorder known as “Long Q-T syndrome.” This is a peculiar problem that occurs as heart pauses between beats, and the cells of the heart tissue are getting ready to squeeze again when signaled to do so by the heart’s own electrical circuit. In Long Q-T syndrome, something goes wrong, and during that pause the heart cannot continue beating. For unknown reasons, this phenomenon seems to occur more often during swimming.
What else about swimming could be the problem? Quite frankly, it is hard to help people as quickly and easily if their heart stops beating during a swim than during a run or bike. Automated external defibrillators can be found nearly everywhere in public these days, and are readily available during most sporting events, but putting them to use in the middle of a lake is impossible. CPR cannot be delivered in the water. Even getting to a victim can be a challenge; during a run or bike someone who collapses is usually seen immediately and response is rapid. During a swim the competitor may be hard to see under several feet of water and flailing swimmers overhead, and the collapse might be very difficult to spot.
So as a triathlete, what can you do to protect yourself? Should every triathlete get an EKG? Most studies have shown that getting an EKG on every athlete would bankrupt the health care system, and might not be sufficient anyway. Your responsibility lies in knowing what your risk factors are and being aware of symptoms that must be checked out. Know your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and family history of heart disease, and take measures to keep these under control. Be aware of lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea, fainting episodes, sudden fatigue, and, of course, chest pain during any exertion, especially swimming. Get into your physician to get these symptoms and risk factors evaluated.
Grant Morrison, MD
Orthopedics/Sports Medicine/Family Medicine
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine
University of Minnesota Physicians
My first ALcatraz event, I aspirated a little water and I was coughing for hours. I was coughing so long and hard, that blood from my inflamed throat was mixed with it.
Could it be as simple as drowning or does the data suggest arrhythmias along with the QT syndrome?
There's also a serious problem with how triathletes approach the swim portion of the race. I'm not a triathlete, but I occasionally train with triathletes, and many of them (though certainly not everyone) regard the swim as a pesky prologue to the "real" race - the bike and run portions. There are a lot of misunderstandings about the important role of stroke technique and efficiency, and a lot of mistaken assumptions about translating pool skills to open water without enough OW training prior to the race. I hope these tragedies at least propel people to regard the swim portion more seriously and be better prepared for it.
I have to agree with you. I swim with triathletes too but the group I swim with go to masters swim workouts and mastered flip-turns, all four strokes and each of them have decried that 50% or more of the triathletes competing are "survivors" rather than an athlete of any kind.
If an an athlete is going to spend $250 on 6-months of swim workouts mastering the stroke mechanics and the ability to thrive in water.
As I have stated many times, safety in the water is the most important aspect of aquatic recreation and sports. It is unacceptable that the governing body of triathlons in the United States, the USAT, is not taking a proactive stance on the issue of swimming safely in their events. How many other innocent athletes will die before some type of control is issued by triathlons governing body. A time standard is not the most important issue. An understanding of the aquatic environment and of ones own capabilities in the open water are just as important as a certification or 'swim test'.
I agree, many triathletes do not get enough, or in some cases, any open water time in before races where the water conditions can be cold, choppy or extremely challenging due to the number of competitors.
As much as a swim time standard might reduce the deaths related to Tri's, I think you'd find it would completely cull the ranks of aspiring triathletes - that's why they have sprint distance tris. The majority of athletes at tris tend to be new to ALL three of the sports, and the thought of swimming a timed event would drive most of them away (as was said earlier, the swim is usually the annoying prelude to the bike and run).
Having done IM distance races I can assure you that there is really no way to prepare for a tri swim without doing one (or, something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk it might be funny looking, but it is very real)
You can't win a tri on the swim, so everyone needs to keep an eye out for everyone else - keep the elites/pros/and competitive folks in waves up front.
I would agree with some of the specualation that the issue may not be with the swim time, but rather dealing with open water swimming.
In the northern climes, I would imagine many potential triathletes do a lot of their training indoors, as 10 degree winter weather is hardly conducive to outdoor swimming.
During a recent local triathlon, I was extremely concerned about hot weather impacting the bike and run courses, yet it was the swim course that presented the challenges. Local triathlon blogs seemed to note a common theme, hard to see because of swimming out into the sun, choppy water due to the winds, etc. Several reported much slower times because, "obviously the course was marked incorrectly". Yet they all failed to take into account that they had a modest headwind for a good portion of the swim.
I think the better answer is educating and preparing triathletes for the differences between swimming laps in the YMCA pool and swimming a race in open water.
Very well stated.
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