To be fair, what a lot of these athletes do in the pool (for artistic events) don’t really look like swimming, either.
I feel like regardless of the experience of the lifeguard, the earliest definitive assessment that the athlete is in distress would come from thier trainers or coaches. It’s thier job to analyze every movement of the athlete.
The other skills of the lifeguard… physically trained and skilled to retrieve someone quickly and safely, that’s what they’re bringing to the table.
That and drowning doesn’t always look like drowning, an experienced life guard is very much needed.
To be fair, what a lot of these athletes do in the pool (for artistic events) don’t really look like swimming, either.
I feel like regardless of the experience of the lifeguard, the earliest definitive assessment that the athlete is in distress would come from thier trainers or coaches. It’s thier job to analyze every movement of the athlete.
The other skills of the lifeguard… physically trained and skilled to retrieve someone quickly and safely, that’s what they’re bringing to the table.