Doctors announce cause of swimmer Fran Crippen’s death
On Saturday, Fran Crippen, 26, a member of the U.S. national swimming team died during a 10-kilometer open-water race in the United Arab Emirates. Officials in Dubai announced he died of “overexertion.”
“We are sorry that the guy died but what can we do. This guy was tired and he pushed himself a lot,” according to Ayman Saad, the executive director of the UAE swimming Association. “He went down 400 meters before the finish line…”
Crippen, who was a serious contender for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, reportedly fell unconscious during the race and was later found by deep-sea divers near the final buoy in the event. His former coach, Richard Shoulberg, said Crippen told him the water temperature was 87 degrees, while other swimmers noted that conditions were warmer than usual on Saturday, reports The Washington Post.
UAE Swimming Federation Secretary Saeed Al Hamour told CNN that physicians had determined that severe fatigue killed Crippen.
“The competition was monitored and supervised by the International Swimming Federation. All security measures were taken care of as needed… We’ve organized so far 14 competitions and championships and never had any death,” said Al Hamour.
In 2009, Crippen, a native of Pennsylvania, took bronze in the Marathon Swimming World Cup at the FINA World Championships, and won the gold at the same event in 2007 at the Pan American Games.
His sister Claire is a senior swimmer at Virginia, while his sister Maddy was a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team.
Maddy spoke to the Post about her brother, saying “He was our hero… We loved him very much, and we’ll miss him.”
Crippen's body will be turned over to U.S. Swimming Federation Authorities on Monday, reports CNN.
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