FUJAIRAH // One of the three swimmers sent to hospital after the race in which American Fran Crippen died said she received no immediate medical treatment following the 10km swim.
American swimmer Christine Jennings, 23, said there was a lack of supervision on the water and a shortage of medical assistance on land.
Crippen, 26, a four-time winner of the event, died of heat exhaustion 400 metres from the finish of Saturday's Open Water World Cup race.
Speaking from her home in Colorado in the United States, Mrs Jennings said: "I had no medical staff around me. The coaches helped me. We didn't get an IV until we got to the hospital."
Crippen's body was expected to arrive in the US last night. The swimmer's father, Pete Crippen, said the family will wait until after the funeral before they begin to address the safety concerns that his son had raised to Fina, the sport's world governing body, in the weeks before his death.
"If we get through this week and lay him to rest on Saturday then we'll address that," Mr Crippen said. "Next week we'll begin to look more and more at the issue of all this."
The head of the UAE Swim Federation, Ayman Saad, denied safety was overlooked and said that the temperature of the water for last year's race was warmer than Saturday's race.
Ms Jennings said she had felt nauseated from the heat 25 metres into the event and battled nausea and hallucinations until the pace began to quicken 8km into the race.
"It was to the extreme where I couldn't tell the difference between the water and the outside air," she said. "It was the strangest feeling. An athlete gets to the point where you can push it up, either step it up another level or step it down another level if it gets really bad. For me, for any athlete, it's hard to give up."
Though Ms Jennings made the decision to back down, she believed Crippen would have pushed on if in the same position. She said she laid on her back and signalled for help for several minutes once she decided to quit the event.
"Nobody came and I'm thinking to myself, 'Why is no one checking on me, I don't understand'," she said. "I was scared. I was looking around and no one had come and then I started getting really fearful."
Ms Jennings struggled ashore with the support of a German competitor and was treated with cold water and towels. Coaches then helped her to an ambulance, where she was given oxygen.
Ms Jennings and her American teammate Eva Fabian, 17, were treated for dehydration, heat exhaustion and fever at Fujairah Hospital.
She said she felt compelled to resubmit her statement when she went to a police station after it was shortened to a few brief lines that omitted her observations on the event's safety.
"All it said was he [Crippen] passed out and drowned. So I said, 'What happened to the rest of my statement?' I made them rewrite it because they needed to know why he died."
The circuit was monitored by two boats, three jetskis and judges, and lifeguards and coaches were present at five stations.
azacharias@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
EXPATS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lulu%20Wang%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicole%20Kidman%2C%20Sarayu%20Blue%2C%20Ji-young%20Yoo%2C%20Brian%20Tee%2C%20Jack%20Huston%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
