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Don’t you feel sorry for American Olympic swimmer Katie Grimes?
What a dreadful situation she found herself swimming for over two hours and more than six miles in disgusting sewage water in the Seine River.
That was putrid enough.
But the currents were wicked tough to navigate. She told USA Today after fighting awful conditions: “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, ever.”
This says plenty. Katie regularly races in a pool for 1,500 meters – one of the most grueling of all events.
Why did this marathon swim have to be so diabolically hard? Why is the nasty water risking her health and every other swimmer in this marathon swim race? She said she swallowed lots of water and hoped she wouldn’t get sick. We hope so, too, Katie. You don’t deserve to get sick for swimming in a race.
The people in charge of this Seine River cleanup project, their failure to figure out how to make it less hazardous for the swimmers, and those who didn’t factor in how miserable it would be for the swimmers if the currents became forceful, should have thought this through better. How did they screw this up so badly? Like the Seine River, the answer is still not clear and seemingly never will be.
Unpleasant and hazardous experiences for swimmers of this race and the triathlon are not consistent with the Olympic experience. Yes, events are supposed to test your mettle, strength, and courage but this whole Seine situation has not been that. It has been a mess, literally and figuratively.
It seems they should have recognized this unpleasant and unhealthy situation was a real possibility and planned to hold these open water races somewhere else. I find it hard to believe they couldn’t have identified some other body of water less polluted and less prone to wickedly strong currents so the athletes could have a more fulfilling personal experience as opposed to near torturous conditions unlike any they could have trained for.
Sports are supposed to be challenging but not miserable and degrading.
I wish Katie could have swam in better conditions and didn’t have to risk getting sick. I wish she would have been given a better chance to show how you great she is at long-distance swimming.
You are an American hero for enduring awful swimming conditions, Katie. Many of us wouldn’t have done it. But you did. It took courage, high tolerance, and high-end mental toughness. So hard, harder than anything you’ve ever done. It didn’t have to be this way. We all wish it wasn’t.
You deserved better.
The others who endured the misery did, too.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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