Abstract

Open-water swim racing in warm water is associated with significant physiological strain. However, existing international policy that governs safe participation during competition relies only on a fixed water temperature threshold for event cancellation and has an unclear biophysical rationale. The current policy does not factor other environmental factors or race distance, nor provide a stratification of risk (low, moderate, high, or extreme) prior to the threshold for cancellation. Therefore, the primary aim of this Perspectives article is to highlight considerations for the development of modernized warm-water competition policies. We highlight current accounts (or lack thereof) of thermal strain, cooling interventions, and performance in warm-water swimming and opportunities for advancement of knowledge. Further work is needed that systematically evaluate real-world thermal strain and performance during warm water competition (alongside reports of environmental conditions), novel preparatory strategies, and in-race cooling strategies. This could ultimately form a basis for future development of modernized policies for athlete cohorts that stratifies risk and mitigation strategies according to important environmental factors and race-specific factors (distance).

Highlights

  • Open-water swimming was first introduced as a medal event (25 km) at the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships in 1991 (Shaw et al, 2014)

  • Since its first appearance in 1991, open-water events have become a major discipline in FINA aquatic sports, including a separate 7-day world championships competition schedule including 5 km, 10 km, 25 km, and 5 km mixed relay events (FINA, 2019)

  • Yearly marathon and ultramarathon race series are held at numerous locations around the world over a 10-month period

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Open-water swimming was first introduced as a medal event (25 km) at the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships in 1991 (Shaw et al, 2014). Yearly marathon and ultramarathon race series are held at numerous locations around the world over a 10-month period This has led to open-water racing competition becoming extremely diverse from a geographical and environmental perspective. Similar to cases in terrestrial sports during hot and humid conditions (Gamage et al, 2020), aquatic competition in high-risk conditions can have tragic consequences. This perspective article discusses current research and challenges in this context to stimulate the development of further research and policies to support athlete health during open-water swimming competition

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PERFORMANCE CONSEQUENCES
MEASURES TO IMPROVE SWIMMER HEALTH DURING COMPETITION IN WARM WATER
Findings
CONCLUSION
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