JACKSONVILLE, Florida, September 17. AFTER the debacle that was the 25K events in Shanghai at the FINA World Championships, where swimmers competed in water hotter than the FINA “recommended guideline” for maximum heat, USA Swimming has taken steps to begin the process to enforce athlete safety requirments.
At the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Jacksonville, the House of Delegates passed by a “clear and vocal majority” a maximum temperature requirement for all open water swims under the USA Swimming umbrella that are 5K or longer.
That water temperature max is set at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, 29.45 degrees Celsius. FINA’s recommended guideline for the top temperature is 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
Wow. I couldn’t imagine racing any distance in 87.8 degree water. That would be brutal. 85 would be pretty hard too. I don’t think anyone would argue with these limits being too low.
Omaha triathlon in 2010 as 85-86ish, ie no one was allowed to wear wetsuits. I’m not a fast swimmer 25-26 oly when I’m semi training, but I was getting pretty darn hot in just a trisuit and desoto speedsuit. I can’t imagine being a fast swimmer in that temp it would be brutal.
We had one in NC this year at 88 degrees. Hot water is slower for sure. Wonder if it makes a difference on the molecular level? (That’s another topic for sure for slowtwitchers!)
The won’t be holding OWS races in Florida in the summer, unless it is on the Atlantic side. Gulf and freshwater temps get pretty nasty. I hope triathlon doesn’t follow suit. Yes, it sucks swimming in the warm ass water, but you deal with what’s available.
For those who don’t know the background, this rule arises out of the death of Fran Crippen last year in a FINA race in the United Arab Emerites. Crippen was a 6 time national open water champ so it hit the open water swimming community pretty hard. The water was 86 and the air temps were very high. Several racers got heat stroke. The high level races don’t have the massive safety back up a trialthon does so they came up a little short on handling the situation. Crippen never finished and was found dead an hour and half after the finish.
Raced an olympic in 91-93* water back in July. After getting out of the water, I was never able to get moving on the bike or run , I was just cooked. The water at that race is usually high, but this year was exceptional. I do not plan on doing a race in that sort of water temperature.
An 85F upper limit would eliminate the Gulf Coast triathlon season from mid-June through October. (Heck, my outdoor ‘unheated’ pool is warmer than that for that time period.) Despite the heat, I feel safe enough swimming in it- the races here in that time frame are generally sprints, and a half mile in 88F+ water is far more tolerable than trying to go a 10K in those temps.