2 men die in Ironman competition in Ireland

Two men dropped dead during the Ironman competition in Ireland on Aug 20^th. According to the Irish brodcasting station, RTE the two men, one in his mid 60’s and the other in his mid-40’s died in separate incidents during the swim portion of the competition.

They were carried out of the water by the emergency services team. According to a BBC report, one of the swimmers was Irish and had been living in the UK while the other was from Canada.

The competition’s organizer Ironman Ireland issued a statement on Facebook stating; “During the swim portion of Sunday’s race, safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognizing the athletes were in need of assistance.

“We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time. We than the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance.”

The competition was a half Ironman which also included a 90 km bike ride and a 21.1km run. The swim portion had already been cut from 3.8km to 1.9km due to bad weather conditions earlier in the year.

County Cork mayor Frank O’Flynn said that the decision to continue the event was not an easy one.

“I’ve no doubt there will be a full investigation and I look forward to the reports on that and that’s something that I ask that they would look at,” he said.

Cork County council said that it would offer assistance to the Ironman Group as well as all those affected.

“We wish to express our gratitude to the response agencies involved, including our dedicated fire and emergency personnel for their unwavering efforts during this difficult time,” said the Council.

The traditional Ironman triathlon comprises of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, totaling 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is thought to be one of the most difficult sporting events in the world.

The photo above is from Wikipedia