I'm a swimmer. Always have been (even when I wasn't competitively swimming). Always will be. I love the pool. I love the water. I love everything about coaching and working with people who want to become swimmers.
Anyone that knows me, knows how dedicated I am to the sport. I will watch swimming whenever it's on. I even got my old roommate, Trish, to actually like watching swimming during the Olympics. It's a thrilling sport and one that is not easy. If you're really lucky, you're good at it and you excel. Obviously it's not for everyone, which is made evident by the fact that there are a select few that can actually make/qualify for the US Olympic teams.
Growing up in this area (the philly burbs), as a swimmer...if you didn't know the Crippen family, you didn't really know swimming. They're like swimming royalty. All four of their kids are amazing swimmers. Maddie swam in the Sydney Games. Fran was a world class swimmer. Teresa and Clare both swim in colleges (Florida and UVA, respectively) that are known for their swim programs. That being said, I was saddened to learn about Fran Crippen on Saturday morning.
He was 26, competing in what would probably be considered a "trial" event for him since his main goal was the 2012 Olympics. He was swimming in a 10K open water event in the United Arab Emirates. The water was at nearly 86 degrees. Even if you're not a swimmer, you know that's warm for the ocean. He was about 1700 meters from the finish when he just stopped. Swimmers found him 2 hours later and was pronounced dead at the hospital. His body just gave out. Whether it was the heat, the exhaustion, the lack of water....he died. A world class athlete died.
CBS 3 has the best story on it (IMO):
http://video.philadelphia.cbslocal.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=5226320&at1=News&h1=USA Swimmer, Fran Crippen, Dies During Race In United Arab Emirates&flvUri=&partnerclipid=
Honestly, I didn't know Fran. I know the Crippen Family because, like I said, if you were a swimmer in our area...you just knew who they were. But the thing is....this is really upsetting me. I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's probably because he was a swimmer....because he's from the area...because he died doing something he loves and I love. But that's just it. He died from swimming. He died from exhaustion. He died from "over-doing-it". I can't begin to tell you how many times I can think back to swim practices where I thought I'd "die" from overdoingit. I can't even tell you how many times I felt overworked and dehydrated in those workouts. And to know that he, a world class athlete who was no doubt in shape, died from it....just baffles me.
I suppose we can take away a few things from this:
-He died doing what he loved.
-He will always be remembered among US Swimming as one of the best.
-He will be a lesson for FINA and all of us.
They've started an investigation about the whole thing - if it were my family - I'd be suing FINA. There is NO REASON that the people who got him out of the water should've been other swimmers. Where were the lifeguards that they claim are all around? Why didn't they listen to Fran when he said he was struggling and wasn't feeling well? When do we learn to listen to our athletes? And when do we stop pushing?
Some say he never would've given up had they told him to stop...and although that might be true...I think there's a lot to be said for the situation that we now have.
It's a tragic loss for the swimming community - not just in the suburbs of Philadelphia but in all of the United States. My heart goes out to the Crippen family.
No comments:
Post a Comment