Risks for young swimmers ‘almost guaranteed’

Children are ‘almost guaranteed’ to get into difficulty at a specific attraction at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC), an inquest heard.

Logan Joyce (4) of Wotton Bridge, Ashbourne Road, Co Dublin was found floating face down in the Lazy River section at the NAC on July 22 2012. A resumed inquest into his death heard the Lazy River, a 120m long 1.2m deep section that circles the Wave Pool, was the number one feature where lifeguards were required to take action.

Lifeguard Graham Smith said the current from the Wave Pool sucks children into the Lazy River and even children wearing flotation devices could get into trouble there. “It’s the number one reason we would get in the water...they are almost guaranteed to get into difficulty there,” he said.