Swim fataility article by Collge of Sports Medicine

Makes me a bit paranoid about wearing a wetsuit... 

Thanks for posting. I wonder if they plan on doing any studies using these precautionary measures, although the number of deaths per 100,000 is still so low without any extra precautions that I'm not sure what a study would prove. 

If you do a search on my past posts you will see that I have a lot to say on this issue. At my first tri of last season I had a bout with acute pulmonary edema or APE. I did not know it at the time but after the race I did a lot of research on this issue and spoke to a handful of doctors including one at at Duke who is doing studies on this issue.

While I agree with most of the items in the report. I think its full of very big words that most people will not understand unless they read it with a dictionary. The race that I had that bout with APE was at a lake location that i had taken over a dozen of swim lessons. So I was very familiar with water. It was not too cold (although the temp of water is a big issue) I have come up with my conclusions that are very similar to the report.

The report discusses swimming fatalities in tri races but you don't ever hear about these things happening in practice. Why?  My opinion is you don't hear about fatalities in practice swims is because they don't happen. Now before anyone jumps all over me about that comment, Yes I am sure drownings do happen in practice swims but I don't think they happen for the same reason they happen during races.   Ask yourself what is the difference between a practice swim and a tri swim? Answer.... More People and More Anxiety! That's it.

More people around you, pre race jitters, both of those lead to increased anxiety. Then throw in a tight wet suit that starts to make you over heat and most people do not do any warm up. You MUST do a swim warm up pre race. This is the most important thing you can do. Get your heart rate up just a bit. For my races which are mostly sprints and Oly level. I start out with about a 5-6 min run at a nice easy pace. then I get my wet suit on and go into the water. Pull the neck out and get some water into the wet suit. Get use to the water and go swim about 200-300 yards. Then come out and relax don't get caught up in other racers anxiety and pre race jitters that will only make it worse for you. When the race starts pick a line start out slow find your rhythm and pace. Unless you are an elite swimmer you will not win or lose the race in the swim leg. Find your stroke and pace then if you feel good pick up your speed. The race I did after my bout with APE last year I let my wave go out in the water and I kind of walked into the lake at the end of the pack and let them get about 50 to 75 yards out then I picked my line and went in. When I felt comfortable I pick up my pace. the race was .5 miles and I ended up finishing ahead of 80% of the people in my wave.

Another big issue that was not mentioned in the article is the fact that many many people start out too fast. I like to think of swimming as a dance. If you are not in the proper rhythm you are all out of sorts. You go out too fast and your forget to breath properly. DON'T FORGET TO EXHALE!!!. Breath in and exhale in the water. A lot of people when they go out too fast just keep breathing in. Then you start to hyperventilate and that leads to anxiety and then the problems start and its like a snow ball rolling down a hill.

So my Mantra is "What is the difference between my practice swim and race day swim. More People and More Anxiety" I follow the steps I outlined above. Warm up correctly, do my best to relax. And most of all I start out my swim slow. Find my stroke, make sure I am breath correctly and when I feel comfortable I pick up my pace. I will now get off my soap box.

This was always my problem.  I just keep breathing in at the beginning of my OWS and have to force myself to breath out.  Even after many OWS's I still have to force myself to breath out almost every time I start.

• Warm up thoroughly before the swim to promote blood flow to the extremities.
• Submerge gradually and become comfortable with face immersion without competitive stress. If breathing difficulty is experienced on initial immersion, get out and jog in place.
• Do an easy swim warm-up before the start. A preliminary swim will help redistribute the increased central blood volume that occurs with immersion.
• In the event of a panic attack discontinue the competitive effort, back float and signal for help until normal breathing is restored.
• If possible, become habituated to the swim venue in advance, as this might attenuate race-day anxiety and its associated hyperventilation

I've seen all of these pointers here on BT. Way to go BT! The two I hadn't heard are don't overhydrate and don't wear a tight wetsuit. Because they don't make sense. I've never heard of anyone overhydrating before the swim, and the wetsuit's supposed to be tight.

Submerge gradually and become comfortable with face immersion without competitive stress.

This was huge for me when racing in May last year in MI. The water is still really cold (on the face and neck). So splashing your face and neck to get the "shock" factor out the of way really helps. You truly stop breathing when splashed with cold water so I can only imagine having that shock, rushing into water, thrashed around in a crowded area can get your breathing all messed up.

Thanks for sharing these articles.

Thanks for posting! 

Agree with concerns raised re anxiety at race start.  APE (Acute Pulm Edema) has also been associated with other situations of sudden increases in 'stress' response (high adrenaline etc.)  Only minor point with Mike's excellent post is that practice/recreational swim drownings DO occur but just don't get the press associated with someone dying at an event in from of hundreds (thousands) of witnesses. Several happen in Great Lakes every year.   IMHO- much safer to do all OWS with a buddy swimmer.

Clearly more research is needed in this area.  Anxiety (even panic) is clearly not good in ANY open water situation inc. tri swim.  But I doubt it is the only cause of these tragedies.  In the 2nd link Kathy posted swim distance of HIM or greater was a major risk factor, which might argue against anxiety since most HIM+ athletes are more experienced.  Other possible causes of OWS fatalities might include cardiac (classic heart attack or rhythm prob), trauma (e.g. kick to head & knocked unconscious, kick to chest causing lung bruising or heart bruise), and serious cramping with inability to even tread water. 

Reading all this, maybe I'll just switch to duathlons