This Thursday afternoon
, Gonzalo Leal, a 56-year-old Uruguayan doctor
who tried to fulfill a dream: swimming across the Río de la Plata, died in Ensenada.
He died almost on the shore, since he was only
less than three kilometers
away from the 40 that separate Colonia del Sacramento, in Uruguay, from Punta Lara, in Argentina.
He swam for more than 13 hours
, without rest, accompanied by two boats: one for aid and another in which one of his sons, Octavio, was traveling.
He had dived at four-thirty in the morning in Colonia, and was less than three kilometers from the Argentine coastline when he began to make uncoordinated movements.
Rescued by the aid boat, they realized that his lips were purple and he had almost no vital signs.
He suffered cardiac arrest
: they performed CPR maneuvers on him and took him to the coast of Punta Lara.
Once there, it was
a van and not an ambulance
that took him to the Ensenada hospital, where his death was confirmed.
Although the physical demands of such a challenge are enormous and taking into account that open waters are inherently unpredictable, could this outcome have been avoided?
A perspective from the end to the beginning can provide clarity.
Gonzalo Leal died in the river
.
By the time his rescuers rushed him to shore, he was already lifeless.
The local lifeguards were the ones who took him off the boat and transported him, in a van, to the Ensenada hospital.
The boat that helped him is from the organizing company to which Leal entrusted his journey, his dream, Open Water Argentina;
and he transported it to the point stipulated for the end of the journey.
But there was no
ambulance there nor an operation from the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA)
ready to intervene.
Having the approval of the PNA is as important as having it arrange a
reception and patrol operation
at the destination.
It is equally important that there is an ambulance at the same point.
In any rescue, it is these two bodies that must intervene, but those who intervened were the lifeguards of the municipality of Ensenada.
Negligence on the coast, let's go inland.
The company that Leal hired, Open Water Argentina (OWA) calls itself the
“largest open water swimming circuit”
in our country.
It was founded and is managed by professional competitive swimmers and open water swimming coaches: some very successful, such as Damián Blum, Fernando Ciamarella or Lucas Rivet.
On their social media profiles, OWA posts photos and other information from those who trust them.
With a simple glance, you can see some striking details.
On January 24, the organization reported that six swimmers attempted to cross the Río de la Plata, but that only two of them succeeded.
According to what the company itself detailed on Instagram, of the four swimmers who did not complete the crossing, one was making his debut in open water and the others only had experience in rivers such as the Salado, the Gualeguay, the Uruguay or the Cuareim,
whose flows were little They can be compared to the Río de la Plata
.
Of the two who did manage to cross the Río de la Plata, one was also making his debut and another had experience in Salado and Cancún, where he had sailed ten kilometers,
a quarter of the distance of this crossing
.
According to what he reported on his own social networks,
Leal had experience
in open waters in Punta del Este and Maldonado, but he swam less than 10 kilometers, much less than what crossing the Río de la Plata means.
More content from the OWA networks: two swimmers are seen who did the challenge last December and managed to cross the river, both wearing neoprene suits, which some specialists advise against for this type of expeditions.
And in mid-November, a Brazilian swimmer had to be evacuated from the water due to a thunderstorm when he had seven kilometers left to complete the crossing of the Río de la Plata.
To participate in an expedition, each swimmer must pay a fee of $4,000.
Clarín
tried to communicate with OWA, but at the time of writing this note he had not received a response.
Matías Ola
is an open water swimmer and coach of other people who want to be one.
He is from Tucuman, he is 39 years old and for almost two decades he has accomplished feats such as swimming across the English and Beagle channels, the Straits of Gibraltar, Bering and Magellan, Lake Baikal (the deepest of the world), and so many other waters.
When consulted by this newspaper about the
precautions
that must be taken on an expedition of this type, he made several points.
“
Physically fit is not enough in these cases
: you also have to know the person's physical behavior in the water, their energy management, their resistance and, above all, their mentality,” adds Ola.
This year, he says, he did not encourage any of his trainees to cross the Río de la Plata because the weather conditions were not, until now, favorable:
increase in flow and intensity of the waves due to the El Niño phenomenon
, and also due to the storms that occurred during December and January.
In addition to preparation, there is another fundamental pillar which is safety.
“You have to understand that these events are
aquatic marathons
, extremely demanding.
Therefore, you must always notify the PNA so that they are fully aware of the entire itinerary, the times and all the hustle and bustle."
And he adds another point, from his professional expertise: “If you take into account the
physical demand
of this itinerary, more important than reaching the point stipulated by the organization is to step on solid ground wherever you can.
Especially if the swimmer's preparation is not the best.
“Safety has to take precedence, because it is about the integrity of people.”
Regarding the neoprene suit – which Leal was not wearing, but other OWA swimmers did – Ola says it is simply due to flotation issues.
“It is not necessary and would even be counterproductive:
with these extreme temperatures it suffocates you
.
If it only serves as a flotation device, it means that the swimmer is not sufficiently prepared,” she says.
He has a non-profit association to train swimmers who want to jump into open water.
He emphasizes the need to prepare rigorously for this type of journey, and the need for coaches – and the companies that are dedicated to offering these journeys – to thoroughly know those who trust them.
One hundred years after the first successful crossing of the Río de la Plata, there are still few brave and highly prepared people who were able to continue along the same path.
As for Leal, an autopsy is expected to be performed on his body this Friday.
ACE