In modern times athletes are pushing themselves to the extreme and putting their lives on the line to meet the high level of quality people expect from them. Recently, in Fujairah, south of Dubai, one of those athletes pushed too far and unfortunately lost his life. Fran Crippen was known as a dedicated swimmer, but also a great teammate; he once sacrificed a win to help a teammate who was in trouble until help arrived. While swimming in FINA Open Water 10-kilometer World Cup he begun to feel sick, but continued to swim anyway. When he failed to arrive at the finish line, swimmers and dive teams swam back out and found him just before the last buoy. Three other swimmers were taken to the hospital, but all are fine. Athletes are pushing themselves harder than ever and its taking a toll, yet audiences sometimes don't understand how hard they are pushing themselves and get upset if they make a small mistake or just barely lose. I just ask fans that before you criticize a professional athlete for making a mistake, or getting tired or hurt, to think about the limits they try to push their bodies to and the hard work they put in.
original article: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=txswimmerdies
-jag13
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