South African news outlets are reporting that the body of 30-year-old missing swimmer, Tristan Dennis, has now been recovered as of 7am local time today.
Dennis went missing this past Saturday while racing in the MidMar Mile, near Cape Town, South Africa, with no record of his exiting the race at any point along the course. Friends of Dennis who were swimming with him notified race organizers of his missing status after waiting for more than an hour for their friend to emerge at the finish line.
The case is currently under investigation, as indicated by police spokesperson Thulane Zwane (pulse.com):
‘The search and rescue unit has found the body of a 30-year-old man who was reported missing on Saturday. His body was found floating in the dam this morning around 7am. An inquest docket has been open by the Howick police.’
This swim has simply become too big. The young lifeguards cannot be expected to monitor so many swimmers, many of whom have inadequate or no preparation for the event. The recovery boats come in filled (mostly with men in the 30-50 year age group) who realise when they are in the middle of the dam that they are no longer as strong and fit as they once were. What seemed like a great idea sitting around the BBQ at Christmas after a few drinks, turns into a job for the lifeguards. (I’m not saying that was the case in this particular circumstance – just that the patrol team are VERY busy and it is unsurprising if someone in trouble went… Read more »
Why the open water swimmers don’t wear a tracking device (like skiers)? The device can be put on the googles’ strap (back of the head?), so it will not be a drag. The team can monitor the swimmer from the shore, so in case something goes wrong (no movement, deviation from the course, etc.), they can send an alert to the rescue team immediately. Something has to be done to increase the safety of all these swimmers.