Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Clarification on the Salt Lake Tribute Article


I just discovered this article in the Salt Lake Tribune, that Benjamin Raskin wrote up.  Pretty cool!A couple of clarifications, that I wish I could make:
  1. The paragraph talking about the Triple Crown of open water swimming as written is a little unclear.  I informed Ben of what consisted of the triple crown, and that after the English Channel, those swims were next on my list to conquer.  But that paragraph isn't clear on that, and some readers could misread that I already had done the other two and that the English Channel would be my final crossing to achieve the TC.  That is not true.  I haven't even attempted the other two.  This is just my first step.
  2. I did tell him that I expected Josh to tell me to pick it up if I fell behind pace, but not just pull me out if I wasn't keeping pace.  Granted if I'm consistently behind pace, and I develop moderate/severe hypothermia to the point where it's unsafe, then yes, definitely I should get pulled.  But if my pace ends up being slower than planned, yet I'm still going along safely, and its reasonably conceivable that it will be a successful crossing, then I should be encouraged to keep going.
I also think the article doesn't give enough credit to Josh, who has been the biggest asset to open water swimming in Utah in the past few years.  He's done a lot to promote the sport and has some pretty big plans himself.  He's been a great friend and partner, and I'm looking forward to being on his support crew for future swims.  The open water community in Utah is like family, and I foresee it expanding and getting stronger.  



3 comments:

Josh said...

He also has me quoted as saying "It’s good having somebody in the water to point out the currents." I didn't say that. How would I be able to point out currents better than you if we are both in the water?

Other than that, it's a great article!

Gords said...

Yeah, I did find that odd.

Matt Gerrish said...

I've never heard of that guy before. He must be a freelancer/correspondent. Never expect much from those guys as far as accuracy and professionalism goes.