As Amanda J. Wendorff pumped stroke after determined stroke, fighting through the 624 jostling women swimming beside her in the Pacific Ocean just off the island of Hawaii, tropical fish and coral shimmered beneath the surface.
“It’s beautiful,” thought Wendorff as the view caught her eye and a manta ray flapped below her. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Above water, desperate swimmers grabbed each other’s ankles. Others, flailing, violently banged opponents’ arms …