The Olympics have added a number of new sports in recent years, though it’s doubtful lifeguard events are among those under consideration for the future.

Saturday, August 11, 2001

The Olympics have added a number of new sports in recent years, though it’s doubtful lifeguard events are among those under consideration for the future.

That’s unfortunate for Albert Lea. There are some lifeguards in town who just might bring home the gold.

It’s what happened at the 11th Annual Southeast Minnesota Lifeguard Olympics, where eight lifeguards from the Albert Lea Aquatic Center topped an 18-team field in a series of six challenging events at the Rochester Recreation Center.

Albert Lea’s team, dubbed the &uot;Wave Breakers,&uot; included Melissa Barr, Laura Grund, Andy Hertges, Chris Lowe, Ryan Lowe, Megan Manemann, Megan Menning and Beau Zuehl.

It was the first time Albert Lea took a team to the Lifeguard Olympics and, according to Zuehl, working as a team was the key for the co-ed Wave Breakers, who twice faced all-male teams in the grueling tug-of-war.

&uot;When you got it you want it, when you want it you win, but it all comes down to one thing, teamwork,&uot; said Zuehl. &uot;After all, where would (the Albert Lea Aquatic Center) be without teamwork?&uot;

&uot;I have been involved with aquatics for over seven years,&uot; said Aquatic Center manager Mike Bauer. &uot;And I have never been more proud of a group of guards; they all did great.&uot;

The tug-of-war, conducted in 12 feet of water, was one of the toughest events but was dominated by Barr, Grund, Hertges and Zuehl.

Another challenging event, the rescue relay, saw the lifeguards swim 25 meters with a rescue tube to another guard, then return to the starting point with a guard acting as a passive victim. The relay was completed once each guard acted as both rescuer and victim.

The diving brick relay carried a rather severe penalty. If someone dropped a 10-pound diving brick while swimming 25 meters on their back, they had to retrieve it at a depth of 12 to 16 feet before continuing the race.

In the newspaper relay, the lifeguards swam on their back 25 meters while carrying a newspaper with both hands, then handing it off to a teammate. Time and dryness of the paper judged this event.

The blindfold search had the lifeguards wearing masks with the front covered with tape and searching the bottom of the pool for hockey pucks.

Lifeguards wore an oversized sweatshirt in the sweatshirt relay, swimming 25 meters and transferring the soaked shirt to a teammate.

According to Barr, the Wave Breakers were well prepared for the competition thanks to the Aquatic Center’s conditioning regimen for its lifeguards.

&uot;The laps that we have to swim for each shift at the pool definitely gave us an edge,&uot; said Barr. &uot;Each lifeguard must swim 200 meters per shift in June, 300 meters in July and 400 in August.&uot;

Said Menning, &uot;It was a wonderful opportunity to show off the high level of skill, training and conditioning that it takes to be a lifeguard in our community.&uot;