Fujairah: Fina, the world governing body for swimming, has cancelled the 10th and final leg of its 15km event scheduled on Wednesday as a mark of respect for US swimmer Francis Crippen who died on Saturday.
An official statement indicates that the decision was taken as a mark of respect to the 26-year-old open water swimmer, who died due to "intense exertion", according to the ruling of the Public Prosecution of the Ministry of Justice.
Medical report
Making the cause of his death public at a press conference yesterday, Ayman Sa'ad, Executive Director, UAE Swimming Association, said: "The medical report from the doctor corroborates the fact that the swimmer was extremely tired and that is the reason why he lost control during the competition. He died due to the effort he made to finish the race."
Fina, meanwhile, has instituted a full enquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of Crippen while giving a clean chit to the UAE Swimming Association.
"All was under strict rules that exist in our competition. All was absolutely correct," Fina president Julio Maglione was quoted as saying from Acapulco, Mexico, where he was attending meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
"It was an accident, a terrible accident," Maglione said.
The Fina president further said that he was told that Crippen had informed his coach after eight kilometres of the swim that he wasn't feeling well.
"He continued and he was found in the deep of the water two hours later," Maglione said.
