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German swimmer Florian Vogel, who is only 20 years old and is currently ranked tenth in the world in the 400 meter freestyle, can add saving a life to his list of successes in 2015.
According to a piece from Promiflash, a popular celebrity website from Germany, Vogel heard a woman screaming while he was doing a photo shoot by the Isar River.
While he was shooting, a woman drove her car into the river, where she started to cry for help. Without hesitation, Vogel set out to try to save the woman.
The temperature of the river was 14.4 degrees Celsius, which is approximately 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Most competition swimming pools are kept around 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The river is also known to have a strong current.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything else at that moment, she just wanted to be saved,” Vogel said in the piece. Overcoming the temperature, the current and the swimmer was difficult for Vogel. “With her grip I could only swim one-armed,” he said.
Vogel did manage to get the woman to shore where she was met by a doctor, but the woman was no longer responsive. “That was the hardest race of my life and the most glaring thing I have ever experienced. I saved someone’s life, incredible,” he said.
Vogel will continue his training for the World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
The article is available here in German.
It is said in several articles I have just read online about it that the woman whom Vogel rescued actually had tried to kill herself by jumping into the river. That is what a police spokesperson says.
Either way, it’s definitely a nice story!
Thanks to everybody ☺️✌
Keep on swimming ?
Congrats, Florian Vogel! Great job!
Wow, thats awesome ?
Swimmers are awesome people
Greatest challenge ever.
You were ready… 🙂
Bravoooo!
Florian Vogel