Berlin: Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals in swimming at the 1972 Munich Olympics, has told Gulf News that swimmers must maintain a "sense of responsibility for themselves" in light of Fran Crippen's tragic death in the Fina 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup in Ras Al Khaimah last month.
Crippen's death at the age of 26 was caused by "intense exertion", according to a ruling of the Public Prosecution of the Ministry of Justice in the UAE recently.
Spitz said: "Whatever commitment you make to yourself or to your sponsors there's a sense of responsibility from the athlete — the organisation has a sense of responsibility but also an athlete that participates in an event like that knows if the waters are too hot."
"Obviously this has never happened before and the sensitivity that heat would have on your body, and how your body could handle that, wasn't understood fully."
Many athletes pulled out early or chose not to race at all given the temperatures.
Water temperature
Fina race regulations stipulate no limit on water temperature. Apparently the water at the offshore event was 29°C but competitors quoted it at more than 40C.
Fina President Julio Maglione was quoted on the organisation's website that Fina had opened an investigation to determine the causes leading to the death of the 26-year-old Crippen.
Maglione's response was that everything had been adhered to by organisers, the UAE Swimming Association.
