Olympic Lifeguards Don’t Exactly Have a Dream Job
Like the cop stuck on desk duty who yearns for undercover work, lifeguards in Rio wish for a little more action.
The New York Times published an article last week about lifeguards working at the Olympic swimming pool in Rio. Yes, lifeguards must patrol the pool even when the world's best swimmers convene. It hardly seems necessary -- does anyone really think Michael Phelps will need to be rescued? Will they blow their whistle to tell the competitors to slow down?
The article really caught fire this past weekend when the Times posted a photo of one lifeguard at the pool on its Instagram page.
Yeah, he looks about as thrilled as a teenager working the register at McDonald's on prom night.
As for the chance someone rescues Phelps, one lifeguard has his own Olympic goals: "I’m dreaming of that possibility."
There are about 75 lifeguards working at the various swimming centers in Rio and they earn $340 for nearly three weeks of work, which makes it easy to figure out if they're sinking or swimming when it comes getting by.