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A Shared Loss

Tim Lloyd - Manager Team Saab Salomon / 11.06.2003

There is only one story form the Raid today, and it’s a story that no-one would ever wish to tell. Dominique Robert from Team Endurance AGF has died in a tragic accident on the water in Kyrgyzstan and the race now seems somehow insignificant.

I’m sure that the teams will continue to race, but not with the same drive and determination as they might otherwise have done. For everyone involved in the Raid, this has left them feeling sick and empty, a fellow athlete in sport as close as ours is lost, and despite the fact that none of us knew her, we cannot help but feel some degree of the terrible loss that will be felt by her family, friends and team mates.

The Raid website today has been quiet, with very little explanation as to what might have happened. A rapid and unexpected rise in the water level led to the accident, causing her canoe to become entangled in branches, this is all we know at present. I presume that we will get to know more in the coming days, but nothing can change what has happened, nothing can make it better.

This incident is a stark reminder to racers and race organisers alike of the hazards of our sport. I guess that to some degree this is why we choose AR, for the buzz, the thrill, the kick, and always to reach such emotions there will be a risk. One clear memory I have from my childhood is something my father once told me, “adventure is not possible without risk�. The one thing he was not able to teach was how to measure the risk, but I suspect that the greater the adventure the greater the risk.

I never knew Dominique, but I know many adventurers and adventure racers. They participate in their sport because they love it. Of course, they will do all that they can to minimise the risks involved, but no matter what measures they take, there will always be an element of danger, and sadly, accidents will happen.

So now the remainder of the teams still have a mammoth task ahead of them. There is a very long way to go and many more exciting challenges ahead. But no matter how much they will enjoy the remainder of the 2003 Raid, their thoughts will be overshadowed by this sad loss, and I’m sure for all of the teams it will be a race that they will be glad just to finish and return home from.

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