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Swimming without sharks
SYDNEY -- Nick Martin was practicing crowd control in Sydney Harbour the other day, and unless you're Greg Norman this isn't the sort of crowd you'd want to hang around. Martin may have the Sydney Games' most unusual job. He is entrusted with fighting off sharks in the Harbour during one of the Olympics' debut events, just in case one of them fancies a triathlete sampler for lunch. Martin is one of six well-trained -- and we believe sane -- divers who will travel alongside the triathletes in the swim leg of their journey to deter sharp-toothed spectators known to visit the area. Martin's deterrent of choice isn't a loaner from Crocodile Dundee; it isn't even sharp. He'll ride an underwater scooter roughly two meters beneath the surface with a contraption called the Shark POD strapped to his back. The yellow and black device is light, costs about $420, fits into a knapsack and looks like a pocket fisherman with an extension cord. Here's how it works: Sharks are born with what you might call a sixth sense that humans do not have. They can peceive electromagnetic fields emanating from fish that are either in distress or in high traffic areas. The lure, we're told, is roughly seven times stronger than that first whiff of Grandma's blueberry pie (six if the berries are in season). The POD (Protective Oceanic Device) surrounds the diver with an electrical field out to a seven-meter radius that has no effect on marine life or humans. But it causes a sort of sensory overload that bothers the shark and causes it to swim away. Organizers have gone to great lengths to calm fears of that one-in-a-zillion attack during the Games. "There is more chance of an athlete being struck by lightning and stung by a bee than there is that he'll be bitten by a shark," says David Hansen, the competition manager for triathlon. "In 208 years there has only been one shark attack in this area, Farm Cove, between April and November [Australia's non-summer months]. Up the harbour sharks can feed on baitfish. But Farm Cove has very few fish and little sea vegetation and almost no dumping of food. Sharks tend to come back to the same place year after year." This hasn't stopped three federations, including USA Triathlon, from double-checking with Hansen to make sure SOCOG can keep the waters safe. "The majority of shark attacks over the last year have occurred in Florida," Martin adds, "so be glad the Olympics aren't being held there." And should swimmers be concerned if they do spot a shark? we asked him. "Sharks are very docile, friendly creatures," Martin says. "If you see one, he's probably just stopping by to wish you luck and show support." Just passing out Gatorade, Jaws is. In March a shark came face-to-teeth with a rowboat near the Cove and took a bite out of an oar. Several other straying swimmers and boatsmen also reported sightings around that time. Granted, it has been cool in Sydney this month, with temperatures usually making it only into the 60s during the day and then dropping below 50 at night. The women's triathlon is the premier event on September 16, the Games' first full day of competition. It would be a bad start to the Sydney Olympics if Nick Martin is called upon to do anything more than swim along -- a sign, perhaps, that what should be a great Games may yet be shark-bitten. SI writer-reporter Brian Cazeneuve, the magazine's Olympics expert, is already in Australia gearing up for the Games. Check back daily to follow his behind-the-scenes reports.
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