MESSAGE IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 3RD DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF US SWIMMER FRAN CRIPPEN
Today, October 23, not just marks the beginning of long fight for Macedonian independence and of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, but also the day in 2010 when US open water swimmer Fran Crippen died in the performance of his duty as a swimmer... in the final leg of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. His death on that hot Saturday afternoon shocked the whole swimming world. I woke up seeing that news on the internet the next day. I did not know Fran before the events of that day, but the news of his sudden demise shocked me so much... and it convinced me to come back to swimming... and to overcome my fear of the water once and for all. Fran's sudden death on the waters of the Persian Gulf off Fujairah changed swimming forever.. and broke its great image that years of successes formed in pieces and that would takes years to be returned where it belongs. Swimmers and swimfans alike were affected by these events and later united around the efforts of "America's First Family of Swimming", the Crippens of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA Swimming, and the entire international swimming community to honor his legacy and to let not another repeat of this terrible event happen. Today the entire swimming world honors its first martyr in years. Fran truly died a martyr not just for his sport but for his country... doing what he loved to do. Let us all... like what he would always say... WORK THE DREAM!!! ETERNAL GLORY AND MEMORY TO THE LEGACY OF THE LATE FRANCIS EDWARD CRIPPEN! John Emmanuel C. Ramos 23 October 2013, 1409H Makati City, Philippines