The Critical Importance of Tow Floats in Preventing Tragedies During Triathlons

Triathlons test endurance, strength, and mental toughness. Despite triathletes being incredible cyclists and runners, the swim portion has historically been the toughest for participants due to the complexity of skills required and the scary nature of open water swimming. As a result, the swim portion of triathlons is the riskiest - 80% of deaths that occur during triathlons occur during the swim segment (Source).

I'm a race director and swim instructor. I've run multiple events and open water stroke clinics, with participants ranging from beginners to elite open water endurance swimmers with hundreds of OWS miles under their belts. I've coached and instructed swimmers in the pool and in open water. Regardless of a swimmer's skill, I always recommend wearing a tow float, even for myself. In fact, I won't teach an open water skills lesson without each participant wearing a tow float.

Bubble/standard tow floats provide visibility and safety for swimmers in open water and are more traditionally accepted in the open water swimming community due to their compact nature and smaller profile.

What Are Tow Floats and How Do They Work?

Just to make sure we're all on the same page, tow floats are inflatable devices attached to swimmers by a tether, floating behind them as they swim. They come in various shapes and sizes but share the same purpose: to increase swimmer visibility and provide a flotation aid if needed. The entire purpose Wild Waters was to bring an alternative tow float to the market (the Quackpacker) that also provided ample storage room for swimmers training for longer events who need to bring additional items or equipment with them - recognizing Quackpackers are not the ideal tow float for high-density or mass-start races like Ironman events. Regardless of the type of tow float, the commonality is their immediate buoyancy without a trigger mechanism, and that they can hold a human body at the surface of the water if needed.

Key Functions of Most Tow Floats

• Visibility: Tow floats are usually brightly colored, making swimmers easier to spot by lifeguards, safety boats, and fellow competitors.

• Safety Support: If a swimmer becomes tired or experiences cramps, they can hold onto the tow float to rest without leaving the water.

• Storage: Some tow floats have waterproof compartments where swimmers can store items like keys or energy gels.

  
  

By increasing visibility and offering a flotation aid, tow floats reduce the risk of swimmers going unnoticed or struggling alone in the water.

To clarify, while I believe our own products - Quackpackers - are great floats for less crowded events, longer endurance challenges, or training, I believe that standard bubble floats are ideal for high-volume events, such as 3000+ triathlons with crowded starts and courses.

Why Tow Floats Are Essential in Triathlons

Triathlons often take place in open water environments such as lakes, rivers, or oceans. These settings pose unique dangers:

• High percentage of inexperienced participants: Athletes who train in a pool or don't prioritize open water swim training are still able to participate with low barriers to entry.

• Unpredictable Water Conditions: Currents, waves, and sudden weather changes can exhaust swimmers or push them off course.

• Limited Lifeguard Coverage: Safety personnel cannot be everywhere at once, especially in large events.

  
  

Tow floats address these challenges by making swimmers more visible and providing a flotation device that can prevent drowning. The tragic incident at Ironman Texas underscores this point. The athlete’s lack of a tow float may have contributed to delayed rescue and the fatal outcome. Read the safety volunteer Shawn McDonald's recounting of trying to save the swimmer who died: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CFjUR9C9p/.

Yesterday, when I learned about the tragedy, I posted a video on social media urging race directors to consider using tow floats during their events. I've received hundreds of comments and private messages in response, with most critizing the suggestion of using tow floats. Their reasoning is that tow floats would cause mass entanglement and confusion during the mass starts, and that race directors should simply mandate all athletes to wear neoprene (buoyant) wetsuits.

This type of response "Oh, it'll never work, just try something that isn't an inconvenience to me personally," will result in more deaths. I've searched to find examples of events that mandated tow floats, had "tow float mayhem," and returned to not using tow floats, and I can't find a single one. For the commenters stating that IM events are often 3000 people and that swimmers using tow floats with such a mass start would be dangerous, I have dozens of events that have mass starts of 1000+ people that DO require the use of tow floats to participate. One example is the Columbia Cross Channel Swim, a 1 mile one-way swim where participants jump off the Sternwheeler (a large boat) in smaller waves to start their swim. Additionally, I've found that the majority of open water events in Europe (1000-3000+) participants require tow floats as well.

I believe the argument of tow floats being high-risk objects that will cause confusion and mayhem is a brush off that event directors use so they don't have to evolve their event to be safer. Events could employ less dangerous starts, like 5-10 second waves or in-water starts to prevent athletes from colliding with each other (in fact, most large races are switching to this model to reduce the risk of injuries anyway). Regardless of whether the participants are wearing tow floats or not, a known aspect of mass-start triathlons is the "throwing elbows" and getting runover, which is high-risk in itself. Why not change the start/entry of the event to both be less dangerous and allow participants to wear critical equipment that can save lives?

Real-Life Examples of Tow Float Benefits

Tow floats are life lines. This explanation is both from the view point of a race director AND a lifeguard.

Most bodies sink. When in distress, most inexperienced swimmers (or those swimming in rough conditions) don't instinctively switch to floating on their back. In fact, most people's instinct is to "stand up" to cough, try to sight, or cope with panic. The person (if they're conscious) wants to get their airholes and brain as far out of the water as possible. As a result, there's very little surface tension with the water, and almost no buoyancy, even if the swimmer is wearing a wetsuit.

An example of what someone in distress looks like - they're vertical in the water, not buoyant.

Once a person is semi or completely vertical, they begin to sink immediately. (This is why body position and keeping legs at the surface of the water is so critical to reducing effort in swimming - once any part of the body is below the water, sinking is difficult to recover from and occurs extremely quickly.) The more lean an athlete, the faster the person will sink, with a body submerging to 5 feet below the surface in an average of 7 seconds. As depth increases, water pressure reduces lung volume, decreasing overall body volume and making the body less buoyant (more dense), accelerating the descent.

If a person can go from being on the surface to being 5+ feet below the water in a matter of 5-10 seconds, what are the odds that a rescuer will be able to respond within that window?

Most non-escorted races (where vessels are dispersed along a course, not next to each individual swimmer) have a volunteer every 50-200 meters. How long do you think it takes for someone to notice a swimmer in distress (or completely non-responsive), start paddling, and reach the spot where the swimmer is/was last seen? I guarantee it's more than 5-10 seconds, even with a professional paddler.

In the case of Mara, the swimmer who died in the swim portion of IM Texas, she was already holding onto a rescuer stand up paddleboard. A rescuer was literally inches away from her as she slipped under the water, letting go of the SUP. Despite wearing a bright colored swim cap and being directly next to a rescue craft, volunteers quickly lost sight of her, and within seconds, she was too deep to retrieve.

I'm a lifeguard trained in pools and I frequently swim in open water. To those commenting on my video suggesting a bright-colored swim cap would make someone more visible: in most open water, visibility is limited to 1-2 feet from the surface. Even in clear pool water, diving to retrieve an unconscious person 8-10 feet down is challenging without goggles, despite years of training with a swim coach who had us practice long sets without goggles in case they came off during a race. In sediment-filled, mostly opaque river, lake, or ocean water, even with good lighting, it's nearly impossible for a rescuer to spot even the brightest swim caps or swimsuits.

With wetsuits, the risk of SIPE increases, which can lead to swimmer distress as well. Most (estimated 90%+) of triathletes wear a wetsuit for their races, regardless of water temp or distance, which means the triathlete community likely has a higher rate of SIPE (likely going undiagnosed). The biggest risk factor for SIPE is having had SIPE previously, and it would be very interesting to try to get more SIPE diagnostic data in the triathlon community. Additionally, most swimmers don't train in a pool wearing a wetsuit, so the constriction and reduced mobility also contribute to swimmer panic during early-season or first-time triathlon participants.

How Tow Floats Mitigate Disasters

Tow floats give rescuers time to respond to an emergency, and protect rescuers in risky situations.

• Safety crews can confirm if there are any swimmers remaining in an area of the course. If a body is under the water, it's often difficult (if not impossible) to see. As a result, many recovery operations are started well after a swimmer goes missing. It's relatively simple to see if there are any orange, yellow, or pink tow floats in an area during a safety sweep.

• If a swimmer becomes unconscious, a tow float will keep their body at the surface of the water, even in rough conditions. This gives rescuers a chance to 1) see the unconscious person and 2) move closer to them.

• If a swimmer is conscious, but panicking, they may try to use anything close by to move higher up into the water, like another swimmer. Even the strongest swimmers cannot stay at the surface if another swimmer is climbing them like a ladder, which can result in another participant or rescuer being pushed under the water. Instructing a panicking swimmer to grab their tow float, rather than another human being, can save 2 lives.

• Tow floats' waist belts can help rescuers pull a swimmer onto a vessel. This is a common safety measure already used in ice swimming (even in pool environments/competitions) to allow "hookers" to hook a swimmer with a shepherd's hook and bring them closer to the pool edge.

• Tow floats allow untrained responders to offer assistance. If the closest person to an emergency is another swimmer, they can use their own tow float to keep themselves and the swimmer in distress together, especially in moving water, while alerting safety volunteers.

How Event Organizers Can Improve Safety With Tow Floats

Race directors and event organizers play a crucial role in swimmer safety. The tow float tether can be required to be shortened. Specific colors of tow floats can be used to avoid any confusion with course buoy markers. I'm positive we can find a way to address every challenge or concern an event may have regarding using tow floats.

Here are ways they can promote tow float use:

• Mandate Tow Floats: Require all participants to use tow floats during the swim portion.

• Provide Tow Floats: Offer rental or purchase options at registration for those who don’t own one.

• Educate Participants: Include safety briefings on the importance and proper use of tow floats.

• Increase Safety Personnel: Combine tow float use with adequate lifeguard and safety boat coverage.

  
  

By making tow floats a standard part of triathlon safety protocols, organizers can reduce the risk of drownings and accidents.

Tips for Choosing and Using Tow Floats

Selecting the right tow float and using it properly can maximize safety and comfort:

• Choose Bright Colors: Orange, yellow, or neon colors increase visibility.

• Secure Attachment: Use a comfortable waist belt or harness that keeps the float attached without restricting movement.

• Practice Swimming With It: Train with the tow float before race day to get used to the feel and drag.

• Inspect for Damage: Regularly check for leaks or wear and replace if necessary.

In Summary:

Tow floats save lives by increasing visibility and providing flotation support during open water swims. The recent tragedy at Ironman Texas is a harsh reminder that safety cannot be compromised. Swimmers, coaches, and event organizers must prioritize tow float use to prevent future accidents and help their safety crews administer life-saving aid quickly enough to make a difference.