The mystery of swimming deaths in athletes.

摘要

Swimming deaths of athletes in races can be shocking and puzzling. Two recent reports are vivid examples. First, in October 2010, Fran Crippen, 26, a medal-winning, open-water swimmer on the U.S. national team, died while competing in the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Open Water 10-k World Cup, in the Gulf of Oman, at Fujairah, east of Dubai (17). Second, in July 2008, three men, ages 32, 52, and 60 respectively, died in the swim portion of triathlons in the United States (4). From 2004 to mid-2008, among deaths recorded by USA Triathlon and including the three men above, 20 (80%) of 25 deaths were during the swim (4). So although triathlon deaths are rare, 1.5 per 100,000 participants (10), they occur dispropor-tionally during the swim. We need to learn more about swimming deaths in athletes so we can better prevent them. This column considers the causes of these deaths.