The death by heart attack of a 64-year-old man during the swimming leg of the New York City Triathlon has renewed debate about the safety of such crowded swimming competitions. In 2008, eight people died during the swimming leg of triathlons. The New York Times reports that yesterday's death is the second in the 11-year history of the race, which incorporates a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10K run. The other death also occurred during the swimming leg. The Times also reports that the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study in 2010 assessing the risk of sudden death during triathlons. The study said that from 2006 to 2008, 14 people died while participating in triathlons, 13 while swimming. The report said that seven of the nine of that group that had an autopsy had died from cardiovascular abnormalities, and that the challenges caused by open water swims hampered life saving attempts. The Times reports that a 40-year-old woman also had a heart attack during the 1,500-meter swim.
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As a spectator, I must say that the response to get the man out of the water was not very quick. Swimmers were calling for help to get to him and the kayakers just sat there blowing whistles. A female swimmer actually dragged the man to the fire boat before anyone even got in the water to help.
People, especially middle-age and older, who are not prepared, and who are not necessarily in shape, have no more business jumping into a crowded open water swim of a mile or more than they have getting into an Indy car just because they know how to drive. It is not safe. Setting aside the problem of an unfit or untested cardiovascular system, most inexperienced swimmers have no idea how they will react when they accidently inhale water and choke (literally) in the middle of a feeding frenzy of racing swimmers 500 yards from shore. We seem to glorify the athletic challenge of the triathlon to the point where people are compelled to take risks they would never take in other areas of their lives.
I am 66. Participating in an event such as this comes under the same category as jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. No reason for it.
We can not legislate common sense. If someone is a risk taker then they are a risk taker. You take some risk when you get into the car to drive to work every morning.