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British extreme kayaker found dead in Swiss lake

The body of British extreme kayaker Bren Orton, missing since May 16th, was found in southern Switzerland in Lake Maggiore on Thursday, Swiss police said.

Published: 31 May 2024 00:05 CEST
British extreme kayaker found dead in Swiss lake
Orton's body was found in Lake Maggiore. Image by blaublu from Pixabay

Orton amassed nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram, documenting his adventures.

His kayak manufacturer Pyranha had announced Orton had gone missing in Switzerland’s southern Ticino canton on May 16th.

“While kayaking with a group on the Melezza River in Switzerland, Bren became trapped in a recirculating feature and did not resurface,” it said.

“Authorities and friends are tirelessly continuing their search efforts.”

The Ticino police put out a disappearance notice on the day he was last seen.

In a statement Thursday, they said: “Shortly before 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) in Locarno, the lifeless body of the man who disappeared on May 16 while kayaking in the Melezza was found in the waters of Lake Maggiore.

“The alarm was triggered by a sailor who found the body in the water and immediately notified the emergency services.”

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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

Why are so many international sporting organisations based in Switzerland?

Switzerland has been rocked by the news that FIFA has amended its rules to allow the possible moving of its headquarters from Zurich. However, it’s hardly the only international sporting organisation based in Switzerland. Why is that the case? 

Published: 17 May 2024 14:38 CEST
Why are so many international sporting organisations based in Switzerland?

Swiss media reports that FIFA laid the groundwork for a potential exit from the city via a vote held Friday, May 17th, during the body’s congress in Bangkok, that changed its governing statutes. 

Despite this move, FIFA has announced it’s ‘happy’ to remain in Zurich.

Even after a potential departure, Switzerland would still claim to be the world’s centre for sports.

In all over 70 organisations overseeing international sports have headquarters in the country. 

Of course, the most famous is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which was founded in Lausanne by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, in 1915. 

READ MORE: What is the secret to Switzerland’s Olympic success?

In the century that followed, several other organisations related to the Olympics and the governing bodies of several popular sports have also based themselves in the lakeside city. 

The World Archery Federation, the International Boxing Association, European Gymnastics, World Triathlon, and several other bodies are based in Lausanne, which is close to the IOC. 

Lausanne is also home to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which seeks to mediate sporting disputes. At the same time, the World Anti-Doping Agency was headquartered there until 2002. 

Outside of Lausanne, the International Ice Hockey Federation is headquartered in Zurich. Basketball’s peak body, FIBA, is based in Basel, as is Europe’s football governing body, UEFA. 

An attractive base

Switzerland is the logical base for world sporting associations for the same reasons international diplomatic and scientific bodies such as the United Nations, the International Red Cross, and the World Health Organisation call the country home. 

First and foremost, Switzerland is the world’s oldest completely neutral country, recognised as such by the international community in 1815. It is not allied with any other significant power. It has stayed out of all the major world conflicts of the twentieth century. 

Switzerland also enjoys an attractive location at Europe’s ‘crossroads’, centrally located and with land borders adjoining several European powers. 

With four official languages, operating an international body within the country is more accessible, thanks to existing linguistic resources. 

In the end, however, money talks. 

The canton of Vaud, where Lausanne is located, does not tax international sporting organisations. Swiss law ostensibly treats them in much the same way as amateur sporting clubs.

There are no requirements to publish financial records, and there are very few other statutes to which they must adhere in their day-to-day operations.

Of course, this has raised the spectre of corruption – in just the last few years, the International Fencing Federation, the swimming governing body FINA and the IOC have been scrutinised over alleged bribes, kickbacks and links to Russian oligarchs. 

Most notably, FIFA itself was the centre of a corruption scandal in  involving its former head, Sepp Blatter, in 2015, 

While the Swiss government has yet to respond with legal changes to help preserve its image, some organisations are already working to prevent scrutiny. 

Most notably, the IOC and related bodies began publishing their financial accounts in 2015, while FIFA introduced a new ‘Code of Ethics’ last year. 

Several individuals also thought to be linked to bribes have also been disqualified from serving with their assoicated organisations. 

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