![]() In endurance competitions, swimmers sweat profusely and risk dehydration, placing greater strain on the body and heart as it attempts to pump oxygen into the tissues.Īnother risk is an imbalance of electrolytes, the minerals that contain electric charges to help maintain blood chemistry, muscle action and other processes. It's not at all obvious when they're having trouble." "Most of the time, when you have a performance athlete who dies suddenly, it's some kind of cardiac arrhythmia," said Dr. "California is not going to compare to very warm water that Fran was swimming in," he said.įINA is still waiting to find the exact temperature of the water in the UAE contest.Īlthough it remains unclear what happened to Crippen, it's difficult to identify warning signs that a swimmer is in trouble in open-water races, when athletes are frequently submerged. including in Southern California, said Munatones, an experienced open-water swimmer who oversees the FINA world championship competitions in the United States and Canada. ![]() Much of a swimmer's reaction to the water will depend on his or her body fat and the environment the swimmer is accustomed to during training.Ĭrippen, 26, trained in pools in the U.S. "Even the fittest heart can suffer when working near 100 percent effort in extreme heat," she wrote in a blog post. Nyad, who usually swims longer distances, said the body could be more fatigued on shorter distance swims, which require more explosive bursts of exertion. Nyad delays attempt to break distance-swim record By the fourth or fifth hour, my arms were slapping and flopping over, and I felt headachy, nausea, dehydration."Īfter long swims in hot water, her veins lay "absolutely flat," and Nyad needed four liters of IV fluid to recover. I realized maybe an hour and half in, I was really feeling sick. Swimming in warm water can trigger nausea, vomiting and light-headedness, said Nyad, who recalled swimming for eight hours in 89-degree water in August. Swimmer: Fatal race may not have been monitored closely enough He, too, estimated that the water temperature was near 90 degrees. "I think every athlete was struggling a lot," said Jan Wolfgarten, a member of the German national team who competed in the race with Crippen. This could lead to swallowing water and drowning, Kamler said. The second possibility is lung failure as the muscles are unable to function properly. That could lead to "spasms, muscles not firing properly," which could have fatal effects, he said.Ī person could get heart arrhythmia because the organ can't pump efficiently. When that water is warm, "it's hard for your body to get rid of the heat," he said. The body dissipates heat through the skin during swims, he said. "If the water temperature was 87 degrees, that's so warm," said Ken Kamler, a doctor and author who explores survival in extreme circumstances. Severe fatigue behind swimmer's death, officials say In a conversation with his coach 12 hours before the race, Crippen said that the air temperature was 100 degrees and the water was 87 degrees. Swimming Federation authorities expected to receive Crippen's body Monday. The official report released by the UAE Swimming Federation did not mention a heart attack. Officials with sporting organizations have suggested severe fatigue and heart attack. He also noted that there was no cloud cover during the UAE competition, "which makes it even more uncomfortable."Ĭrippen's cause of death remains unclear. "Water in the 80s feels like a Jacuzzi," agreed Steven Munatones, who helped write safety rules for FINA, the international governing body for the sport of open-water swimming. Several of the athletes complained about the water temperature. ![]() swimmer Fran Crippen died during a 10-kilometer marathon Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. Imagine now, you're going to crank your entire body, and swimming uses the entire body." "When you get out, you're feeling light-headed and very thirsty. Merely sitting in a tub saps energy, said extreme swimmer Diana Nyad. (CNN) - Competing outdoors in almost 90-degree water is like racing inside a hot tub, swim experts said Monday. Competing in warm water is like swimming hard in a hot tub, Nyad said.Swimmer's cause of death remains unclear severe fatigue and heart attack cited.Several swimmers in the Saturday competition complained about warm water.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |