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Amit Green: ‘lucky’ |
Swimmer warns of pool’s lane dangers
Lives are at risk, says architect scarred by collision
THE victim of a horrific accident at Swiss Cottage leisure centre believes swimmers using the pool could be putting their lives at risk.
Amit Green, an architect who lives in Primrose Hill, collided with another swimmer at the centre in August.
He needed nine stitches to the gash above his eye he received when a swimmer, practising a racing start, pushed herself off from the side and slammed into him. The injury has scarred him for life.
He has attempted to speak to centre staff about increasing the size of the swimming lanes but without success.
Now the keen swimmer says he is too afraid to return to the pool – and worries that swimmers’ lives could be in danger.
He said: “No lessons have been learned from my accident. At the least they should consider the width of the lanes they have and whether there should be stronger rules regarding what you can and can’t do in the pool.”
Mr Green added: “I was hit while under water and could have been knocked unconscious, yet not one lifeguard came to help. I was bleeding badly but was offered no assistance by the poolside staff on duty at the time.
“I was lucky – it could have been much worse. I was hit so hard I could have been knocked out. I was wearing goggles that could have shattered into my eye. Despite all this, no one has taken any action to prevent this happening again.”
He would like to see a ban on racing starts, where swimmers push off at speed, by using their legs against the wall of the pool.
When the pool opened two years ago, it was reduced from 50 metres to 25 metres.
Mr Green believes that at the centre, run in conjunction with private company Greenwich Leisure, there is pressure to provide lucrative swimming classes at the expense of people who simply want to turn up for a dip.
He said: “The lanes are ridiculously narrow. You are touching other people as you swim, and it is because they want to squeeze in as many people as they can.”
The Amateur Swimming Association, which governs the sport in the UK, does not have guidelines for the width of lanes but suggests they should be more than two metres. A spokesman said: “Two metres or under is getting a bit close for comfort.”
A Town Hall press official said that, because the accident was being investigated, Greenwich Leisure would not confirm the width of the lanes on the day Mr Green was injured.
A Greenwich Leisure spokesman rejected Mr Green’s allegations, maintaining that staff immediately went to his aid and submitted an accident report.
“A subsequent internal investigation confirmed that all health and safety procedures had been adhered to and that Mr Green was dealt with in a sympathetic and appropriate manner,” he added.
“We place considerable importance on the health and safety of visitors to our facilities at all times.” |
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