Tough European Rescue Swimming Championships for 700 rescuers from 26 countries

“This is the highlight of the year,” says Wim Nuyens of the organization.

“All European countries are coming together. We were able to set some new world records yesterday at the Masters and the National teams. So this is the top of the top.”

Top level

Rescue swimming or Lifesaving is not a well-known sport. In Bruges the swimming tests are at top sports level and on the beach in Blankenberge there is swimming in the open sea.

The European Rescue Swimming Championships have something for everyone. It involves running and there are swimming tests in the sea, but there are also relays with rescue aids where the course is completed rowing and on surfboards.

“Livesaving is very multidisciplinary. You have to be able to walk, swim, sprint, endure, test strength. Very diverse, but the end goal is always saving people’s lives,” says Karel Logghe, director of EK Lifesaving.

“We train like sportsmen”

The participants are often more top athletes than student-lifeguards that we know from the beach.

Piran Phillips, UK Livesaving Champion: “The European Championships are very important to us. It is the most important event on our calendar. It is training like a sportsman. I work a bit on the side, but I compare it more with professional athletes. I train it all year round. I train about 14 times a week. It never stops.”

There will also be competitions on the beach tomorrow. The swimming water is quite warm, but the conditions, in the rain and the storm, do not really make this European Championship a baywatch championship.