Crippen Carries On Through Family Tragedy
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 | Women's Swimming & Diving, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Some days they cry, other days they laugh.
It has been that way since they first received the news two months ago.
They laughed and cried on Nov. 12 when Fran Crippen was inducted into the Germantown Academy Athletic Hall of Fame in suburban Philadelphia.
Last summer the youngest of the Crippen clan – University of Florida junior swimmer Teresa Crippen – spent much of her time at Germantown training with her older brother, Fran, while they were at home for a rare extended stay together.
They would jump in the pool during the day, testing each other while training for their upcoming events. At night, they would hang out at home and goof around, Teresa often the target of Fran's next prank.
“He was always the comedic relief of the family,'' Teresa said.
Teresa and her family were back at Germantown – where all four of Patricia and Peter Crippen's kids went to school and became elite swimmers – six weeks ago for Fran's special night.
It was 30-year-old Maddy's turn – she is the oldest of the Crippen siblings – to deliver the one-liners this time. Maddy had the 280 dinner guests laughing and crying at the same time, invoking what is known as “Fran-speak'' as she shared stories and mimicked her free-spirited brother's mannerisms during her speech.
Fran Crippen may have been absent physically, but his bigger-than-life spirit was everywhere. When told months earlier by Germantown athletic director Jim Fenerty that he was going to be inducted into the school's hall of fame, 26-year-old Fran was humbled and nearly at a loss for words.
For the only boy in the family – the Crippens' other daughter, Claire, is a senior swimmer at the University of Virginia – it was one of the rare times when he lacked a witty comeback.
“He always said he was the rose between three thorns,'' Teresa said. “I was like, 'Don't flatter yourself.' He was a good big brother.
“He was awesome.''
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Fran Crippen lived life to the fullest, and his non-stop adventure led him to the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 23.
Crippen was there to compete in a 10-kilometer open-water race as he looked toward qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.
A two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Swimmer of the Year at Virginia, Crippen turned to open-water courses after two failed bids to make the U.S. Olympic Team in more traditional events.
When Claire's Virginia team came to Gainesville for a dual-meet with Teresa's Gators squad on Oct. 11, Fran was a world away competing in an open-water event in Hong Kong. He traveled regularly to places such as Brazil, China, Argentina and Canada to compete in events held by FINA, the swimming world's governing body.
“He had a lot of experiences,'' Teresa said. “I was always so jealous of him. He got to see a lot of the world.''
UF's school-record holder in the 400-meter individual medley, Teresa was at the Pan Pacific World Championships in 2006 when Fran started his open-water career.
The change helped revive Fran's passion for swimming.
“It's almost like a completely different sport,'' Teresa said. “The strategy and competition – it's kind of more like raw swimming where you are going head to head and there's no lane lines. It can be a contact sport and you've got to stay in it for two hours.
“He loved it.''
In the end, Fran died doing what he loved most. On a hot day and with water temperatures in the mid-80s in the Gulf of Oman, Fran's body was discovered about 400 meters from the finish line in that race two months ago.
When discovered in the water after his fellow competitors realized he had not finished the race, Fran was not breathing and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter, creating an outcry in the international swimming community about the safety standards for swimmers in events such as the one in which Fran lost his life.
“We lost a great person and swimmer,'' 2008 U.S. Olympic hero Michael Phelps wrote on his Facebook page. “It's a tragic loss.''
Crippen's death remains under investigation – he had written a letter to officials nine days prior to his final swim voicing safety concerns about certain open-water events – and FINA's ongoing investigation has prompted officials to postpone the start of 10-kilometer open-water World Cup competition. The status of the event in the UAE where Crippen died is now in limbo.
Maddy Crippen told ESPN.com earlier this month that Fran would want the event to continue with added safety measures.
“The last thing Fran would want to see is the end of this event he loved,'' she said. “I don't want to see athletes not able to compete. I just want [FINA] to shift the focus from the organizing committee to the athlete and make [races] safe.''
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On the day her older brother died, Teresa Crippen received the news from Gators head coach Gregg Troy.
It was one of the most difficult tasks of Troy's career. He has known the Crippen family for several years and got to know Fran well on international trips together.
“Nothing prepares you for it,'' Troy said. “In that dynamic, you become an extension of the parents and family because they are not there.''
Three hours after breaking the news to Teresa at practice, Troy was on a plane bound for Philadelphia with her. He spent some time with the family before returning home later that evening.
Teresa spent a couple of weeks at her Philadelphia-area home with family and friends before returning to school and the swim team to close out the fall semester. As she continues to cope, some days are better than others.
The Gators have rallied around Crippen to help keep her spirits up. Several teammates took her on a shopping trip in Orlando and they constantly make sure she isn't spending a lot of time alone. Support from the international swimming community has also poured in to the Crippen family.
“Her level of maturity through all of it has just been amazing,” Troy said. “Certainly there is a tremendous amount of grief … she missed some classes and got right back on top of it. We have not seen a drop in her grades. Her training has been fantastic.
“The first time out, there were some tears and I would anticipate there are going to be memories a lot of times. She is a great competitor. We have seen no change there.''
Teresa said her teammates have been “100 percent behind me the whole way. They're sensitive to what I'm going through, so that makes it real easy.''
Teresa's return to the pool a week after her brother was inducted into Germantown's Hall of Fame – she said she battled through physical and emotional pain she didn't know existed – was a big success in a meet at Georgia Tech, where she won an event and placed in multiple others.
Some of her passion for swimming has slowly returned, reminding her of those long days swimming off the Jersey Shore with her siblings growing up. That's where the Crippens first learned to swim for safety reasons and set them on their way to becoming a family dynasty in the pool.
Maddy, a 2000 U.S. Olympian, is retired from the sport. Prior to his death, Fran appeared a lock to make the U.S. open-water team for the 2012 Olympics. Claire and Teresa have Olympic dreams of their own.
But before they can fulfill them, they have work to do to keep Fran's memory alive.
During the holiday break, Teresa and Claire plan to finish rebuilding Fran's website – FranCrippen.com – and make it the Internet home of the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation.
One of their primary goals is to help raise money to increase swimming safety awareness for open-water meets.
“I think that's how we've been coping with it, just trying to keep his legacy alive,'' Teresa said of building the foundation. “We just want everyone to know how much he loved everything he did, and how much he appreciated all the help he got along the way.
“He hit some really rough spots in his swimming career, and where most people would have said, 'That's it; I'm done. It's time to hang up the suit and get a real job.' He knew that wasn't what he wanted to do. He fought for [his dream] and that's what we want people to remember.''
Some days Teresa Crippen cries, other days she laughs.
However, she is thankful every day for that final summer with her big brother at the pool at Germantown Academy. He'll be with her there forever.
“I am so grateful,'' she said. “It was probably the best thing that could ever happen to me.''
