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TIFU by being a good swimmer

So obligatory this didn't happen today, but a couple weeks ago. But I'm still so baffled about this incident that I feel like I have to share.

I work part time at an amusement park in Finland (so sorry if my English isn't perfect), summers mostly, but sometimes autumns as well. Our workplace hosts multiple parties/events along the summer. One beloved event is a sauna party, which consists of being able go go in to the sauna, to go swimming, to play some games and to chat with other workers. Usually some alcohol is involved.

Some important background about me: I train in Taekwon-Do, so my ability in endurance sports is pretty good. I love swimming, so I do it as often as I can (which is not often, but often enough to be classified as a decent swimmer).

So the event starts, I tell most of the people that I'm not drinking since I want to go swimming (we have an unfortunate amount of people drowning from going swimming while intoxicated, especially at Midsummer, or Juhannus, as it's called here). So I'm sober, going to the sauna, diving in to the lake while having some coca cola in my system. I'm confident that almost everyone knows I'm sober, since most of the people have had some drinks and act alike.

Well at one point I decide that I want to go swimming, like actually swimming, not just dipping at the lake like most of the (intoxicated) people did. I love swimming so I go on swimming pretty far for most (drunk) people and at about 500 meters (I guess, not really sure) I turn back. I swim back with no issue, the swim having taken about 30 minutes at most.

Well, while I climb ashore I see a car from the fire department parked near the event place. A bunch of fire men run past me and I slightly panick, thinking someone fucking drownded. A bunch more fire department people run ashore, with diving gear on and drones, and I walk to the nearest people about to go swimming, asking what's going on. They tell me that someone swam too far and 112 was called (Finland's equivalent of 911 or 999). I'm quite terrified, thinking that someone actually drowned and that the emergency people were looking for the drowned person. And as the ambulance arrived and the emergency responders followed the fire department, I was absolutely sure that someone had drowned and I felt ill. I didn't want to go to the sauna or to swim anymore so I went inside our event building and took a quick shower and started changing my clothes. While I was doing that police apparently showed up. Some people, who were at the dock at which people jumped into the water from, came looking for a person who had specific swimming gear. I happened to have that specific swimming gear (a blue swimsuit that looked like it had shorts). My swimming suit was bought for the purpose of looking as gender neutral as possible, and it was a full swimming suit that looked like it had shorts on. But mine wat blue, not black. However I did not let this affect me as blue can seem black in dim lighting (and it was later in the evening).

So I said yes, I had this kind of swimming gear, thinking I was the last one who saw the drownded person. But oh no... The emergency number was called for me! Because people were worried I couldn't make it ashore despite having told multiple people I wouldn't drink that night and despite those knowing I loved swimming. So they called the emergency number to make sure I got back ashore alright. But they got there just after... Looking for a person I thought had drowned. Even after some people told me that they saw a person swimming quite far I didn't even think about questioning if it could've been me. Since I was sober. And alright.

So in the end I ended up talking to two police officers who responded thinking they had a drownded person at hand. They asked me questions about whether or not I had swum far, to which I responded that in my opinion no but in the opinion of others I may have, which they took as yes, since no drowned people or people far from the dock were found by the fire department. They told me: "Well, let's make a deal. You won't swim tonight anymore and we'll hope that we won't be called to your party anymore." Obviously I answered: "Of course. And I really hope so."

And so all departments left. The fire department, the ambulance, the police. And no one has been found drownded at that place since then. So yeah... It was probably me they called 112 for. I'm so embarrassed for having wasted their time.

So tldr: I thought going swimming sober was a good idea at an event at which most people drank some alcohol. Ended up having the emergency number of Finland (112, equivalent of 911 or 999) called on me. Thought someone had drowned but it ended up just being people being worried about me; that I couldn't swim while under the influence (I wasn't).

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