What it means to be a lifeguard at the Olympics. “It’s a misconception that we’re useless”

Lifeguards attending the Olympics say their job is not as “unnecessary” or as easy as most people would think, Business Insider reports.

“It’s a misconception that we’re useless. Unfortunately, people are injured, so we have a role. Of the four Olympic events I took part in as a lifeguard, this year was the first in which I had no incidents on the water. I’ve been a lifeguard in Omaha, Nebraska, for 26 years,” said US lifeguard James Meyers.

Lifeguards don’t just get involved in monitoring Olympic evidence. Where appropriate, they shall also intervene in other borderline situations.

“We don’t just have to take care of the athletes. Often we have external groups that use the pool between the preliminaries of the trials and the final. We save not only the athletes, but also the people participating in those events,” James Meyers revealed.

“We never had to go for a particular athlete; we have always been present for all competitors. The only reason we didn’t have to go into the pool this year was because of COVID-19, because outside groups weren’t allowed,” said James Meyers.

Our objective is to stay in the background. In general, if you see us, it means something bad has happened. On the other hand, if there is an emergency and we make a mistake, it immediately ends up on YouTube or on TV, and no one wants that.

James Meyers, lifeguard:

Lifeguards present at the Olympic Games are trained largely to respond to medical problems or accidents, if a person cannot leave the pool. The entire lifeguard crew is a volunteer.

There are about 700 volunteers at the 2020 Olympic Games, of which only 50 are lifeguards. People travel here on their own money, including paying for hotel accommodation, just to get involved.

“We start work in the morning at 5.30 and sometimes we stay until 10p.00. Nothing happens without the army of volunteers backstage. We hope we don’t have a role, but we do. When we’re called, we have to be prepared for it. We can’t stay passive for a moment,” James Meyers said.

The worst event involving the American lifeguard happened just after the 2012 Olympics. That’s when he managed to rescue a man who was swimming at the masters’ national meeting, a swimming team for the elderly.

In 2016, although he had recently had hip surgery, James Meyers got involved, using a scooter to move around the pool.

“Apparently, I got too close to Phelps (n.r. – American swimmer
24 times Olympic gold medalist and holder of seven world records) and he had to jump out of the way. I never saw him, so in my mind it never happened. But it’s pretty fun to say I almost chased him,” Recalled James Meyers.

As volunteers, lifeguards are asked not to ask for autographs from athletes in uniform, but behind the scenes, “we have an opportunity to get them,” concluded James Meyers.

PHOTO: Hepta