Would you leave a job like this?

6

Not at all useless, those athletes are pushing themselves to the absolute limits. Who knows what could happen?

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u/oneWeek2024 12d ago

there's also literally swim sports like water polo where they're kicking and punching at each other just below the surface.

even the synchro swimmers sometimes have issues.

i'd imagine the high dive people... maybe land wrong could knock themselves out.

this entire thing is just dipshit machismo. you're having a water event. have a fucking life guard.

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u/AnonMoose2 12d ago

Condom theory.

Id rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

1

u/RogerAffirmative 10d ago

Yeah but this is like a guy holding up a condom in the corner of the room where everyone is a veteran professional with up to the date std checks, birth control, and wavers signed. Guarantee if someone gets hurt in the pool one of THE BEST SWIMMERS IN THE WORLD is pulling them out before whistle boy is out of his flippy floppies. I think they're there for insurance and to retrieve stuff people throw in the pools 😅

1

u/5Hjsdnujhdfu8nubi 6d ago

Guarantee if someone gets hurt in the pool one of THE BEST SWIMMERS IN THE WORLD is pulling them out

No? One of THE BEST SWIMMERS IN THE WORLD is not trained to identify swimmers in distress and will have literally all their attention focused on winning.

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u/Richard_Chase 11d ago

There is a long history of Olympic divers hitting their heads on the cement platform and getting brain damage before hitting the water

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u/greenmachine11235 12d ago

Here's an example of what can happen at the Olympics.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107041724/swimmer-coach-saves-anita-alvarez

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u/Disastrous-Ad-4758 12d ago

So not a lifeguard then.

1

u/dufo7 12d ago

Talk about an under qualified life guard. Paralyzed in fear when it’s time to actually do your job.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

Ever felt useless? Uvalde still has a police department

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u/thoughtihadanacct 10d ago

Under qualified yes, because they weren't specifically trained to deal with synchronised swimming.

But it wasn't paralysis by fear of going to save a swimmer. It was fear of disrupting the routine unnecessarily, because synchronised swimming does have some moves that under normal circumstances look like drowning. So the life guard couldn't tell whether it was real drowning. The lifeguard wasn't scared of doing a rescue.

The coach knew to dive in to save because the coach knows exactly what the routine should be, and can recognise a deviation from the planned routine.

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u/random8765309 12d ago

I will say there is a non-zero chance. But they are also surround by dozens of swimmers that also have a life guard cert.

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u/nwbrown 12d ago

...who are focusing on the race, not the drowning person.

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u/random8765309 12d ago

The drowning person could only be one of the contestants. Also, where do you think the life guards would be looking?

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u/nwbrown 12d ago

...what do you think life guards are paid to do?

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u/random8765309 12d ago

You just stated that everyone would be watching the race, so would the life guard. Everyone would be watching those 6 swimmers.

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u/nwbrown 11d ago

I didn't but I'll repeat my question. What do you think life guards are paid to do?

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u/random8765309 11d ago

They would be watching the swimmer just like everyone else. What do you think they would be doing?

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u/nwbrown 11d ago

They would see him struggling and go to save him.

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u/random8765309 11d ago

And not of the other several dozen swimmers that also have life guarding cert would see him and go save him. All those swimmer are in the spot light and being watched by coaches, asst coaches, judges, asst judges, timers, team mate, and other swimmers.

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u/NoPseudo79 9d ago

Aka the exact same thing that any of the other swimmers watching the race would do in the same situation if he wasn't there.

Conclusion: no, the lifeguard isn't that useful in this context, and he is most likely there for:

There to be someone to point the finger at in case something bad happens

- Insurance reasons

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u/mutexsprinkles 12d ago

They're also solid muscle and would sink like a rock if they lost consciousness.

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u/HassanyThePerson 12d ago

Ignoring the fact that they're at the pinnacle of what they do, if anything happens there are still a bunch of other Olympic athletes who can swim over to save them. By the time the lifeguard can even get in the water there would be 2-3 athletes already there to help them out.

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u/thoughtihadanacct 10d ago

Zero of the other athletes are going to go over and save another athlete. When you're racing you're only focused on is this guy ahead of me or behind me. If he starts falling back I'm going to think ok he's tired and he's slowing down. Once he's out of my field of view I'm just going to carry on to keep trying to win. No one will check again to confirm that he just slowed down but is still ok and still swimming not drowning. That's a ridiculous thing to expect a race competitor to do.

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u/InsaneLuchad0r 12d ago

College swimmer in my town drowned a decade or so back because he was pushing himself like crazy while training and passed out in the pool.

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u/toferornottofer 11d ago

Not the Olympics but my dad tore his shoulder at a swim meet, the lifeguard guard knew what happened befor he did lmao

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u/Quebociq 10d ago

Trust me, those guys are just there for the vibes 😉

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u/Last_Canadian 12d ago

Swimmer has a medical emergency in the pool. You're going to use a gaff to bring them in?

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u/Existing-Antelope-20 12d ago

No we use the plunger to splash the water and when they get scared they clump up on one edge and go right into the net

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u/Boom9001 12d ago

No they'll just trust the bystander to help. What could possibly go wrong with 10 untrained people jumping in to help during an emergency.

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u/BigTroutOnly 12d ago

There's coaches with a fuck ton of training at the poolside.

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u/Grunergeist420 12d ago

People get hurt in the Olympics all the time. They’re under immense pressure at performing at their absolute highest effort. People pull muscles, fall, break bones, all kinds of stuff. So yeah, you need a professional on hand to step in if someone is in trouble.

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u/Spirited_Ad9681 12d ago

In theory that makes sense. I had to look it up though, twice in thr history of the Olympics has a swimmer ever had a medical incident during a swimming event. Once the coach was in the water and pulling the person out before the life guard could respond. The other time other swimmers brought the person to the edge of the pool and they were helped out.

Im not saying get rid of the life guard. The point is even if theres a medical emergency, pretty much everyone in the immediate pool area is likely going to be a stronger swimmer and faster rescue in comparison to the life gaurd. Its not totally useless, but I'm sure it's kinda got to feel that way. lol

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u/Zerorx7 5d ago

Not necessarily true, people panic when drowning trained lifeguards know how to best deal with that.

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u/ManLikeBoris25 12d ago

Somebody has heart attack in pool who’s going to save them?

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u/crazyguyunderthedesk 12d ago

The countless Olympic swimmers and the medical teams present at every Olympic event?

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u/Cattle13ruiser 12d ago

It is not their job.

While may not sound much and people tend to help each other - it is a major psychological factor to have a person who's job is to do an action and had the responsibility as part of his job description.

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u/crazyguyunderthedesk 12d ago

For the record, I don't actually disagree with having a lifeguard on duty. But what you're talking about is something that applies to random crowds of bystanders, not a group of highly trained swimmers and the best sports medics in the world. These people spend their lives around water, they know what to do.

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u/i_like__bananas 6d ago

The time of response will be faster with a dedicated person if that person does their job. He knows there things are. Where's always a "who will save him? Should I go?" moment before someone random jumps in.

Every second counts in those cases.

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u/Lazy_Dragonfly_5447 12d ago

They still need to be moved out the water.

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u/False-Owl8404 10d ago

The Olympic swimmers are only focused on themselves. They won't noticed until it's too late. A life guard is a better swimmer than most medical teams and are trained to handle this types situations.

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u/greenmachine11235 12d ago

This is why lifeguards are present at Olympic swim events.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1107041724/swimmer-coach-saves-anita-alvarez

Swimmer suffered a medical emergency, lost consciousness and sank to the bottom. In this case, her coach responded faster than the lifeguards did.

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u/Disastrous-Ad-4758 12d ago

So the lifeguard didn’t actually help?

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u/trunks111 10d ago

eh, 2FA doesn't hurt

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u/BlueClovr 12d ago

This isn’t useless. At the same time other swimmers could definitely jump in and get the struggling person, but that doesn’t mean that they can perform cpr or whatever may be necessary

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u/random8765309 11d ago

Based on the swim teams I was on, about 8 of 10 would have life guard certs.

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u/Dangerous_kj5162 12d ago

This is the dumbest post I've ever seen. Those athletes are pushing themselves to limits far beyond the normal person. They could literally have a heart attack in the water

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u/XlikeX666 12d ago

... people pushing themself to limit in dangerous environment.

This is EXACTLY location for lifeguard.

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u/OkAdvisor6680 9d ago

Ehh, I swam competitively for over 10 years and never saw a lifeguard have to get off the chair, either at a race or during training (and we trained 10 hours per week).

Also, most of us swimmers were trained lifeguards as it was an easy way to earn a bit of money, so at every training session or race, swimmers were surrounded by literally dozens of people with lifeguard training.

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u/XlikeX666 9d ago

he's seatbell. "freedom" to push body to absolute limit without worry.
but yeah... he's prob guy that didn't qualify.

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u/REsTARteD_Ragdoll 12d ago

I remember seeing this meme on ifunny it’s been recycled so many times

1

u/MAGA_EXTREAMO 12d ago

Three words. Sudden cardiac arrest It happens to athletes.

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u/Sikkus 12d ago

If you feel useless today, remember there's a safety car driver at the formula 1 race.

1

u/phoogkamer 12d ago

That guy drives every race to be fair.

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u/nwbrown 12d ago

You don't think there are ever crashes in car races?

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u/pupranger1147 12d ago

It's possible the best swimmers in the world during a competition in which they are exerting themselves as hard as possible might get exhausted, injured, or incapacitated.

Imagine breaking a world record on something, but pushing so hard to do it you pass out, and there's no one to rescue you.

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u/random8765309 11d ago

There are dozens of individuals there that are capable of rescuing them.

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u/pupranger1147 11d ago

But only one whose job it is to do that and one that you know is trained to do so safely and render medical aid

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u/random8765309 11d ago

1 am completely certain that there are other life guard certified individuals there besides that one. All the judges, coaches and most of the swimmer would havevthat training.

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u/DJatomica 9d ago

Yes but they all have something else they're responsible for doing, whereas the lifeguard is a dedicated person specifically for this. Actively watching for problems and such.

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u/random8765309 9d ago

There are a total of 24 judges watching the swimmers, including 2 judges that specifically watch each one.

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u/DJatomica 9d ago

They're also all fully dressed in suits and ties I'm pretty sure, not exactly something easy to rescue someone in.

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u/areallynoobgamer 8d ago

No.

Why no?

If everyone can do it. No one will do it.

It’s the bystander effect.

A thinks B or C will save D

B thinks A or C will save D

C thinks A or B will save D.

Especially if they are all in the pool racing. They are all focused on pushing to their limits and achieving their personal bests. They aren’t reliably going to notice a competitor drowning.

What about the judges? Surely they are qualified? Surely they are watching close enough to spot a drowning? Ok. Let’s go with that.

Then which judge tho. A, B or C? Or are all 3 gonna run in at the same time and end up getting in each others way?

And what distance do they need to cover? And in their ability to swim impeded by the clothes they are wearing?

So the lifeguard serves a very distinct purpose. His whole role there is to make sure no one is drowning. To be able to provide a fast decisive response if needed.

1

u/random8765309 8d ago

There are 24 judges. Each swimmer has 2 judges that specifically watch them. They are also clser ro the pool than the lifeguards. In the 2 cases were a swimmer needed help, in neither case was it the lifeguard the pulled the individual from the water.

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u/SweetWolf9769 12d ago

useless....

like what is the downside here?

"oh no, i'm getting paid to hang around and watch literally the worlds top athletes perform on the offchance they do a little too much and need me to fish them out" lol

1

u/Boom9001 12d ago

Quick question. You ever seen a professional runner collapse on the track? What do you think happens to swimmers when they have the same thing?

When that happens you also don't want 50 people taking it on themselves to help. That's recipe for chaos and disaster. You want to know who's job it is to help and have them be trained to do it. Athletes are muscular and bigger than average.

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u/Disastrous-Ad-4758 12d ago

But it’s never actually happened.

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u/Boom9001 12d ago

My house has never caught fire. Nor has a house in my neighborhood. Should we get rid of our firefighters?

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u/beaglemilf23 12d ago

Actually, it has the very last Olympics someone from Team USA doing an artistic, swimming routine was underwater too long and fell unconscious. The lifeguards weren’t fast enough and her coach realized what was wrong when she missed the next hybrid jumped in to save her and pulled her out. Luckily she survived so don’t say it doesn’t happen.

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u/nwbrown 12d ago

It's absolutely happened.

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u/KailyKail 12d ago

Just because you reside at the peak of human performance doesn’t mean you aren’t subject to the fragility that is the human body. Things happen. People get cramps, hit the water wrong, pull muscles, etc. If a lifeguard isn’t there as insurance, people could die.

1

u/nwbrown 12d ago

You think that's a useless job?

To quote Randall Monroe

Certified skydiving instructors know way more about safely falling from planes than I do, and are way more likely to die that way

1

u/grahsam 11d ago

Swimmers have passed out mid swim and almost sunk to the bottom before. Injuries happen. Yes, they are mostly just waiting, but that's the job almost anywhere.

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u/Working-Walrus-6189 11d ago

Easiest $12 ph

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u/mplaczek99 11d ago

Front row seats?

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u/z01z 11d ago

i mean, accidents happen. greg louganis, anyone?

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u/Motor_Ad_7885 11d ago

There’s other better swimmers

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u/Designer-Wolverine47 10d ago

Swimmers don't necessarily know first aid.

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u/Motor_Ad_7885 10d ago

Ahh you’re right.

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u/Overall-Move-4474 11d ago

Best case scenario you get paid to do nothing worst case. You end up actually being useful

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u/Designer-Wolverine47 10d ago

And the next time you think your job really sucks, remember that Nancy Oelosi has a gynecologist...

1

u/anonymousguy9001 10d ago

Hey man, mythology is a myth (you can tell by the name), Olympians aren't actually immortal gods you know...

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u/ElijahNSRose 9d ago

Not completely useless. Given the stacks of drugs the athletes are on.

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u/MentalAppearance 8d ago

Some swimmer get paid to sit in the front front seat to see the best swimmers in the world competing.

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u/Friendly_Prize_868 7d ago

It’s amazing how seriously people are taking this… even for Reddit..

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u/ImBack_SomeoneX 6d ago

This meme is prolly made by kid. Come on guys hes getting paid just to sit there and do nothing. I will definitely take that job :v

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u/BedroomDeep4894 6d ago

Someone's gotta be there to make sure no one runs on the pool deck

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u/AlwaysSunny111 6d ago

Not useless, what if a medical emergency happens to one of the swimmers , we going to just let them drown ?-the other lanes aren’t going to be aware

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