Triathlons and Swimming...

I guarded at a triathlon this weekend. There were 600 people participating, but there were not 600 swimmers... For the first time in all of my years of guarding, I saved somebody's life. She is 24; it was her first triathlon, her first open water swim and she was in awesome shape. She had trained hard, but was obviously unprepared for what race day would bring. Someone had told her that she'd probably be able to touch if she got tired, and she panicked when that was not the case.

The water was choppy and she swallowed a lot of it. I heard another swimmer yell for HELP and another say "She's going under!" I had to swim across the pack of racers to get to her. I was relieved to know that all the scenarios we run through during monthly training are actually helpful and necessary. When faced with a real emergency the tendency is hesitate, second guess, when what you really need to do is GO. Luckily I went. She was about 50 feet from me... 47 seconds is my fastest 50....I grabbed her arm and put it over the rescue tube. She was crying, but slowly began to calm down... I brought her to the outside of the pack and I towed her into shore. Once she composed herself and had the EMTs check her out, she resumed the race and finished.

I left the venue a little sick to my stomach. A whole lot of "what ifs" running through my mind. It was a lot to process. Being responsible for someone elses life is nothing I will ever take lightly. I don't think the kids (I think the next oldest guard was 21?) don't fully grasp that concept. I have to guard at a beginner clinic in July...