Breaking the Guinness World Record of Spyros Chrysikopoulos who swam 358.2 km in a 50m indoor pool in Athens over a 7-day period set a very high standard for marathon swimmers.
Ross Edgley realized how difficult the bar was today at the outdoor Best Centre Sports complex on Mallorca, Spain.
He started off very well, swimming to plan on Day One and stopping at 50 km – only when his support team wanted him to conserve save his abundant energy for the rest of his week. But the adrenalin rush that Edgley had on the first day bled into the evening when he could not fall asleep. “I closed my eyes for hours, but I never could fall asleep,” recalled the 39-year-old from East Midlands, England.
Little did he realize that a lack of sleep was only going to be the first of many other issues.
Observer Team & Roles
Observers have always served vital roles on channel crossings, marathon swims, and extreme events from stage swims to cold-water challenges.
Observers are individuals who – depending on the body of water, the governing body (Guinness World Records in the case of Edgley’s 7-day pool challenge), and the rules set in place – confirm the swimmer strictly abides by (or deviates from) the accepted rules and regulations in place and documents the swim itself. They can provide a written detailed synopsis of the swim (that may include descriptions of feeding details, marine life, conditions and temperatures encountered, distance covered, time taken, and a variety of additional information). The official Observer Report is written in real time, subsequently submitted to the governing authorities, and serves as a historical document for the swimmers and others to better understand the swim.
But observers are also part of the overall safety net for the swimmer. They serve as the “eyes and ears” of the swimmer, and based on their experience can help support and save or rescue a swimmer in distress. “I have jumped in the water to assist swimmers in channels, lakes, rowing basins, and bay over the decades,” explains Steven Munatones. “Because we are constantly watching the swimmer, we know the subtle signs where problems emerge and their swims must be aborted when the risks become too much and the elements of danger become greater than the glory of success.”
Risks versus Rewards
Extreme sports athletes are a different breed than most other humans. They understand the risks of their challenges, but they train themselves to avoid or minimize these risks. They are physically prepared and position them psychologically to accept discomfort, pain, or injury during their swims.
“Swimmers like Ross push themselves well past their comfort zones,” said Munatones. “Risk-taking and a high tolerance to physical discomfort seems to be part of their nature. They are driven to see how far their minds and bodies can take them. Their make-up is precisely they do what they do. At the same time, their support teams must look out for their own good. They can push themselves so far that they end up in hospitals and risk long-term physical harm to themselves.
These risky outcomes occur time and time again from Attila Mányoki to Kimberley Chambers, both in the North Channel, to Penny Palfrey from Hawaii to Florida, to young, fit, professional marathon swimmers at the 2005, 2007, and 2009 FINA World Championships, to Ross himself at his marathon swims in Loch Ness and Lake Trasimeno where he ended up hospitalized.
Swimmers want to continue – sometimes, literally to the very end – but observers and their support teams must act as governors in the engines that drive the extreme athletes. They have to stop them well before hospitalization becomes their only option.
So the athlete’s drive and the support team’s dual responsibility to help the athlete reach their potential safely and keep them from harming themselves requires a fine balance. One mistake and the ultimate outcome can be disaster.“
Decisions in Mallorca
In Edgley’s case, the lack of being able sleep after Day One was a precursor to subsequent problems.
Munatones summed up the deteriorating situation and joint observations and decisions by coach Lauren Quigley, observers Ger Kennedy, Thomas Kofler, and Chris Morgan. “It became increasingly apparent that we had a serious problem with Ross’ deteriorating cognitive awareness. Day One went well. But on Day Two, Ross faced blistering hot conditions and increasingly high solar radiation swimming back and forth in the pool. Ross experienced heatstroke in the middle of the sunny, hot day. On the first day, Ross enjoyed significant cloud cover, but on Day Two, it was great for tropical sunbathing, but not for maximizing distance swum in a heated pool.
Ross became nauseous and lightheaded. His skin was scorched, but fortunately he understood the severity of the situation and lied down on the pool deck in the shade with his feet up and ice on his body and shoulders. But, true to his nature, he wanted to get right back in the pool to continue after he felt better.
He also appeared to have bicep tendonitis and he was obviously nursing a shoulder injury – but he only grimaced and did not complain, true to his nature.
Eventually, Ross’ boundless enthusiasm convinced his team that he wanted to make the most of Day Two and he got back in the water. But remarkably he was still on pace to break the record after crunching the data, a rather surprising outcome.
Day Three was another good day, but there were hints that Ross was pushing himself to his outer limits. We asked him to stop every 500 meters for a brief hydration stop and a face-to-face checks. He was disciplined and kept progressing well. But towards the end of a very long day, he was frequently miscounting his laps and would swim 400 or 600 or 700 meters – not 500 meters as requested.
Day Three ended at 11:30 pm at night. Ross had a short walk to his hotel, but insisted on heading back to the pool at 4:00 am. He was down in the lobby precisely at 4:00 am and walked towards the pool, determined and with a deep tan.
Day Four started off well enough with the lights of the pool on, but then it started to sprinkle after 30 minutes. Soon thereafter, there was a downpour. On Ross’ stops, he was shivering and complaining of the cold. So while heat was an issue on the previous days, hypothermia seemed to be setting in on Day Four.
But it was early in the day and Ross was still swimming steadily. He still had plenty of buffer in his overall game plan.
So he exited the pool, took a warm shower, and then hopped into a sleeping bag covered with blankets for a quick nap.
He emerged from his nap and seemed ready to go – but in a particularly characteristically Ross style. He had a genuine smile that showed anticipation for his swim and appreciation of his support team and the opportunity to keep swimming. But he – somehow – concurrently had a nervous grin, like a hidden grimace of sorts. It was a hint of what was to occur.
He kept on swimming for another 5 hours. His pace was consistent, between 1:42 and 1:51 per 100 meters for kilometer after kilometer.
But then the rain lifted and the sun came back beating down on Ross.
He got out of the water and his speech was slowed. It was clear – and he knew it. His thought process was concurrently slowing. He felt nauseous and lightheaded – even more so than on Day Two. Even Ross admitted his condition and agreed to head back into the pool office that served as a makeshift recovery room. ‘I also felt like an iron rod was in my throat down my sternum,’ he said.
Conclusion
In light of all these conditions and circumstances, Edgley and his team mutually determined that the best and most prudent decision was to officially call (abort) the swim at 137.6 km. In hindsight, it was an easy decision – even for Edgley whose face looked like he got way too close to a coal-burning furnace.
He fought through his physical injuries (bicep tendinitis and labrum injury) and it is was possible for he to carry on to the end of his 7-day swim with this injury. But when Edgley concurrently became nauseous, lightheaded, and hypothermic after experiencing heatstroke, in addition to cognitive impairement, it is time to place safety first and abort the swim.
Photos above courtesy of Elle Jenkins.
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