Yahoo News Fact Check: Yes, Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions
Claim:
Lifeguards are present at Olympic swimming competitions.
Rating:
After the Paris Olympics began in late July 2024, a meme went viral making fun of the notion that professional lifeguards are present at Olympic swimming events, calling it the most "useless" job in an arena of world-class swimmers. The meme has been popular for years and shows a lifeguard looking bored as an Olympic swimmer sits in the foreground.
Love this...a PSA to those having a tough day:
If you feel useless today, remember somebody is working as a lifeguard at the olympics. pic.twitter.com/7vbdJ8KQV3— Frank Leibfarth (@Frank_Leibfarth) July 28, 2021
Lifeguards are indeed present at swimming events during the Olympic Games, and they have been so during many such competitions over the decades. The above photograph was taken in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and can be found in a 2016 New York Times story.
The New York Times story reported on lifeguards tasked with watching over the athletes, even someone as adept in the pool as Michael Phelps, who had 18 gold medals to his name at the time the story was published (that number would rise to 23). Anderson Fertes, a 39-year-old health-club lifeguard from Rio among the lifeguards, admitted the odds of Phelps needing to be rescued were small, but he would be on hand if anything happened.
Lifeguards were present at the 2024 Paris Olympics as well, as seen in this photograph from Getty Images.
(Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile/Getty Images)
One such individual won notoriety at the Paris Olympics when he stepped forward to "rescue" an errant swimming cap in the pool, and was dubbed "Bob the cap catcher" by American news media. A cap was seen floating in the pool after a race, and a man in floral trunks retrieved it. He was identified by Reuters as a lifeguard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIx4qRRu4tw
An Olympics spokesperson told CNN, "This situation is common at swimming competitions. … As the lifeguards are the only people wearing swimwear, apart from the athletes, a request may be made to fetch an item at the bottom of the pool prior to the next race. In this case, the request was made to the lifeguard closest to the item."
In a 2023 Associated Press story, athletic swimmers spoke about the need for lifeguards at all such sporting events. American Olympian Regan Smith told a reporter, "But accidents happen all the time. I think the second that people are, like, getting cocky and it's like, 'Oh, we don't need lifeguards here,' that's when a freak accident happens. So, I'll always take the stand that you can never be too careful. I'm glad they're here. I don't know how to do CPR. They do."
According to The New York Times, World Aquatics, the international governing body for swimming-related sports, does not explicitly require lifeguards at every event. Its rules state:
In order to protect the health and safety of persons using swimming facilities for the purposes of recreation, training and competition, owners of public pools or pools restricted only to training and competition must comply with the requirements established by law and the health authorities in the country where the pool is situated.
French law requires that swimming pools open to the public or with paid access must constantly be monitored by "qualified personnel holding a diploma issued by the State." French laws state only a lifeguard, or a holder of the national certificate of safety and aquatic rescue, can "guarantee the supervision of the establishments."
Such international competitions have resulted in medical emergencies. In 2022, U.S. artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez was finishing her routine at the World Aquatics Championships when she lost consciousness and floated to the bottom of the pool. Her coach jumped in to save her when she saw the lifeguards had not reacted.
Lifeguards have stepped in during medical situations at the Olympics as well. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, photographs showed lifeguards and other personnel helping a member of Japan's artistic swimming team out of the pool after she appeared to faint.
(Getty Images)
Sources:
"'Bob the Cap Catcher' dives to the rescue in swimming pool." NBC Sports, July 28, 2024. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIx4qRRu4tw. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
"A Life Guard Stands next to the Pool at the Swimming Events At..." Getty Images, 13 Sept. 2018, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/life-guard-stands-next-to-the-pool-at-the-swimming-events-news-photo/1036384732." target="blank">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/life-guard-stands-next-to-the-pool-at-the-swimming-events-news-photo/1036384732.">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/life-guard-stands-next-to-the-pool-at-the-swimming-events-news-photo/1036384732. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
"A Member of the Japan Synchronized Swim Team Is Tended to by Coaches,..." Getty Images, 23 Aug. 2008, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/member-of-the-japan-synchronized-swim-team-is-tended-to-by-news-photo/82521996." target="blank">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/member-of-the-japan-synchronized-swim-team-is-tended-to-by-news-photo/82521996.">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/member-of-the-japan-synchronized-swim-team-is-tended-to-by-news-photo/82521996. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
Branch, John. "Lifeguards at the Olympic Pool? 'Yes, It's Necessary.'" The New York Times, 4 Aug. 2016. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/sports/olympics/olympic-swimming-pool-lifeguards.html." target="blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/sports/olympics/olympic-swimming-pool-lifeguards.html.">https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/sports/olympics/olympic-swimming-pool-lifeguards.html. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
Chappell, Bill. "When a U.S. Swimmer Sank to the Bottom of the Pool, Her Coach Jumped in to Save Her." NPR, 23 June 2022. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107041724/swimmer-coach-saves-anita-alvarez." target="blank">https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107041724/swimmer-coach-saves-anita-alvarez.">https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107041724/swimmer-coach-saves-anita-alvarez. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
"Column: A Salute to Lifeguards, Who Are Even Needed at the Olympic Pool." AP News, 30 June 2023, https://apnews.com/article/lifeguards-swimming-us-nationals-olympics-f9b76921c7adc4e78688708d73087473." target="blank">https://apnews.com/article/lifeguards-swimming-us-nationals-olympics-f9b76921c7adc4e78688708d73087473.">https://apnews.com/article/lifeguards-swimming-us-nationals-olympics-f9b76921c7adc4e78688708d73087473. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
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