Eugene city employee and swimmer Robin Mayall was only a half-mile from completing her swim across the English Channel, when a sudden serious medical condition abruptly ended her journey.
Her decision to get out of the water may have saved her life. According to posts on Mayall’s Instagram account — made by her daughter, Asa — Mayall had covered about 98% of the roughly 21-mile journey Wednesday, Aug. 26, and was in sight of shore when she developed swimming-induced pulmonary edema, also known as SIPE.
The condition, which otherwise healthy swimmers can develop, causes sudden breathlessness and severe coughing and wheezing and can be fatal.
It is caused by a swimmer’s blood pressure rising dramatically due to intense physical exertion and water immersion, which puts pressure on blood vessels, especially in cold water…