FUJAIRAH // US swimming authorities have released a list of open-water swimming guidelines for competition in response to the death of Fran Crippen, who died of heat exhaustion at the end of a 10-kilometre race last October.
The recommendations say that no race of more than 5km should be held if the water temperature exceeds 31°C or if the combined air and water temperature added together are greater than 63°C.
The US commission also made specific suggestions for tracking and monitoring swimmers, and called for clear water-to-land communication channels.
"We are confident that the recommendations we've made reflect an increased concern for safety at these events, and that they do so without paralysing the sport," said Dick Pound, the former International Olympic Committee vice president who led the commission that investigated the circumstances surrounding Crippen's death.
"What we've produced is a sensible programme of action that will significantly reduce the potential for this sort of tragedy to occur in open-water swimming again."
Water temperatures were 30°C at 11am on the day Crippen, 26, raced in Fujairah, and reached 31°C near its finish at 11.45am, according to measurements by Fina, the world swimming governing body.
Open-water swimming was introduced as an Olympic sport at the 2008 Beijing Games. Natalya Pankina, who swam the English Channel and represented the Russia Federation in open-water events from 1998 to 2009, said that regulations must be in place because athletes would always push themselves.
"There are a lot of people asking 'why didn't Fran stop?'" she said. "When you race, you are feeling bad, you are feeling pain, but you don't want to stop yourself. It was really at his heart. It was at his mind. You know he was doing his best."
Ms Pankina, who lives in the UAE and previously competed here for Russia at World Cup events, said GPS tracking should be mandatory for all races but that changing temperatures made it difficult to set maximum temperature limits.
"Minimum it can be, but maximum you can just judge from the beginning. When you're swimming 25km, you cannot stop the race after three hours," she said. "I don't think they can fix temperature. It is open water. It is not a swimming pool and even in a swimming pool people die from heat."
The US recommendations are in line with a plea for tighter guidelines made by Ayman Saad, the head of the UAE Swimming Federation, in the days following Crippen's death. However, the US recommendations do not apply to Fina and would therefore not necessarily be required at Fina events in the UAE.
The federation said Mr Saad was in Egypt and could not be reached for comment.
azacharias@thenational.ae
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
General%20Classification
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.