A 67-year-old died during Across the Lake swim event in Kelowna, B.C.
The man was found unresponsive roughly two hours after starting the race. Multiple swimmers reported being blown off course by high winds and choppy waters.
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A 67-year-old died during Across the Lake, one of B.C.'s oldest and largest open water swim events, over the past weekend on Okanagan Lake in Kelowna.
The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating the death. West Kelowna RCMP said the man was found unresponsive in the water roughly two hours after he started the event and was taken to shore. Attempts by B.C. Ambulance crews to resuscitate him failed.
According to the event's website, Across the Lake is "the largest and longest continuously running open water swim event in Canada." Participants swim either 2.1 kilometres or 1.5 kilometres, starting in West Kelowna and ending at Hot Sands Beach in Kelowna. Roughly 1,200 people registered for this year's competition.
Multiple race participants reported being blown off course by high winds and choppy waters unlike those they've experienced in past years. One participant said she was swimming as hard as she could and realized she wasn't moving. "It was a scary moment," she said. A former lifeguard watching from shore noted she could see dozens of participants and paddlers being pushed off course as they hit the middle of the water, while conditions on either side were relatively calm.
Event organizers have yet to comment on the death.
By the numbers
How long after starting did the swimmer become unresponsive?
The 67-year-old man was found unresponsive in the water roughly two hours after he started the Across the Lake event in Kelowna, B.C.
How many people registered for Across the Lake this year?
Roughly 1,200 people registered for the 2026 Across the Lake competition in Kelowna, B.C.
What water conditions did swimmers report during the event?
Multiple participants in Across the Lake reported being blown off course by high winds and choppy waters that were unlike conditions in past years, with dozens of swimmers and paddlers pushed off course in the middle of the water while conditions near shore remained relatively calm.
