The 2011 Fran Crippen Open Water Mile and 10km swim in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this past weekend was a much needed event. Many swimmers have struggled with a way to pay their respects for Crippen, who died last October at a FINA sanctioned race in the UAE. The tight-knit open water community has struggled even further to seek an outlet for their feelings, given that race organizers at each of the first two stops in this year’s FINA 10k circuit chose not to hold any special respects for him.
This weekend’s races were a chance for many swimmers to bring closure to their feelings for Fran. Not that he or his cause for safety will be forgotten, but for those who knew and loved him (and the list of the latter is extensive) there had to be a final way to pay respects for him, and feel as though they’ve really had their chance to say goodbye. The first of these events always has a different feel than the rest, and in future years the event can (hopefully) continue as a celebration of what he did, and a constant reminder of the importance of safety in open water swimming.
While it was ultimately of little significance to many who won the races, at the same time, maybe the racing was important. Funerals allow people to express their feelings about someone in words and tears, but not everybody is a master of those two things. Fran’s passion in life was swimming, and besides his family, it’s what he lived for. For those who couldn’t say what they felt in the early aftermath of his death, the racing and competing was a way to demonstrate their love for a fallen friend, teammate, and role model. Everyone knew his drive, and his passion, and his competitiveness, and to ignore the racing aspect of the two events and treat the swim as a casual coast through the ocean would be selling the memorial short.
The winner of the open water mile “Dash for the Cash” was Australian Travis Nederpelt, who is a 2004 and 2008 Olympian in the butterfly and IM events. Following him were Americans Peter Vanderkaay and Conor Dwyer. Chloe Sutton, despite giving up the sport to focus on her pool efforts, showed that she has not lost her open water chops as she was the top female finisher at 5th overall.
In the 10km swim, the women’s race was won by another Aussie: Melissa Gorman. She is one of the best Open Water Swimmers in the world, and was the 2009 World Champion over 5km’s in Rome. Australian coach Greg Towle told Aussie papers on Saturday that “The open water swimming community is very close and to be able to celebrate Fran Crippen’s life in this way has been a humbling experience for all, especially the athletes.”
The men’s 10k was won by American Andrew Gemmell, who was the 2009 Open Water Swimmer of the Year.
Big congratulations need to go out to the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation and especially Fran’s sister Maddy, who was in charge of organizing the whole event. While she’s said in interviews that she has stopped training totally after completing her college eligibility at Virginia, it appears she has a future in meet organizing. Competitors raved about the quality of the event and venue, and open water vets claimed that it was among the best events they’ve ever attended.
And most importantly, everyone was pleased with the safety of the race, and are excited about the move of U.S. Open Water Nationals to this same venue in a few weeks.
The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was electric, and all of the forces cooperated to create a beautiful memory of a fallen comrade.
Check out the video below, taken from a small camera on a feed-stick on one of the race’s feeding stations taken by Santa Barbara coach John Dussliere:
I think you mean Peter Vanderkaay and Conor Dwyer, not Connor Meyer.
The results that I was sent said Connor Meyer, though they were by no means “official”. I kinda thought the same thing, but I’ll work on confirming.