Champion swimmer challenges Olympic skier to marathon Montreal dip to teach water safety
Two decorated athletes took the first ever International Drowning Awareness Day to the next level by crossing Montreal’s Olympic Basin Sunday to promote water safety awareness.
“I’m not a big swimmer, I’m a skier,” said three-time Olympic skier Alex Bilodeau. “It was a challenge for me to swim three kilometres today ... just to raise awareness.”
Bilodeau was invited to do it by his friend, and international swimming champion, Xavier Desharnais, for whom the dip was, well, a swim in the park.
An estimated 80 people drown every year in Quebec. Desharnais says the point of the marathon, was to share some common mistakes people make around water.
A big one, he says, is failing to realize that swimming pools and open water are drastically different.
“In a pool, you have lanes, clear water, walls, lifeguards,” explained Desharnais. “In open water, you can’t see the bottom, [and there’s] nothing to grab on to.”
Even for the Traversee Lac St- Jean champion, he says that’s why he rarely swims alone.
Raynald Hawkins, the director of the Lifesaving Society, echoed that tip.
“Fifty per cent of victims are alone,” he said. “No one can help you, no one can call 911, and for sure, because you’re alone, we don’t have an explanation [for what happened].”
What’s more, Hawkins says 90 per cent of boating related drownings happen because the victims weren’t wearing life jackets.
With those two changes alone -- swimming with a friend and always wearing a life jacket -- he says than 70% of drownings could be prevented.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
A child killer legally changed his name in B.C. The province is trying to stop that from happening again
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.
CN Railway suspends service on some networks due to wildfires
Canadian National (CN) Railway suspended service on its network between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson in B.C. and north of High Level, Alta., due to wildfires, the company said on Monday.