Two die in the Ironman at Youghal

There does potentially seem to be ambiguity over if the race was not sanctioned due to the weather conditions, or due to the shortened distance of the swim.TI have worded their statement in such a way that they could argue that since the adverse conditions lead to the shortening of the swim that's then what lead to the sanction.

Basically its still up in the air if TI said to Iron-man "we can't sanction this event because we think the weather conditions in the water are too dangerous."

It's quite a serious topic, you should do your homework.

Apparently, it is the most dangerous part of Ironman competitions. Most deaths occur at that stage. Another thing that surprised me - age is not as big a risk factor as I thought.

It is a very sad occasion for the families involved -and on a day when everybody went out to enjoy themselves. ‘One would wonder how the accident actually happened unless it was a major heart attack in both occasions and which there was no coming back from. One need only look at that poor Tipperary hurler who died on the pitch recently. Other Gaelic players - in the prime of their youth - have died in similar circumstances down the years.

Three things struck me about the swimming element and there has been no mention of them Ie

(1) I understand that when ANY swimmer thinks that there are in a difficulty on the water and need help that he/she puts one arm up - pointing to the sky. I would assume then that the rescue service would immediately respond.

(2) I would 100% assume that all the participants are SEASONED swimmers and can all float / thread the water, etc, et , to keep afloat until help comes along

(3) I would also assume that a good % of the other swimmers would stop to help anyone in difficulty and forego the race

As they say , we are all experts in hindsight. I sincerely hope that I am not upsetting anyone by bringing up the above but they just ‘crossed my mind

Have you read any of the thread at all?

1 - it’s been pointed out numerous times that the swells rendered it impossible to even spot someone on their back with one arm up. I suspect there was 100’s with arms up at any point

2 - having completed two half distances myself I can tell you like the majority of people who are new to triathlon come with running and cycling experience more often than not. I myself learned to swim from YouTube. Seasoned swimmers exist of course but this I have no doubt that many down in cork were first timers at 70.3 or full distances.

3 - again, been discussed that it’s like a washing machine in the water. Been swam over, hit and pulled back often. It’s awful sometimes. Especially when you get caught up with faster swimmers. Of course people stop to help you. I spoke to people who were in the water in cork and some were pulled under trying to help others. Sometimes no one stops too.

Ironman are an utter disgrace letting this go ahead. And hard to support TI and their statement when they made no effort to relay the info to people on the morning. Iv imagined standing waiting to get into that water and I know I’d be only dieing for someone to pull the plug so I wouldn’t have to. This storm didn’t arrive unannounced that morning. There was plenty of red flags waving for TI and IM to make a call good and early and they didn’t

RIP to the two contestants.

It seems a given that there was an increased risk on Sunday for this event, it just remain to be seen during the investigation whether or not the mitigations taken by the organisers were sufficient or not. Taking the TI statement at face value. they would appear to have been inadquate and maybe even reckless

And yet everyone bar one man made it out of the water unscathed.

And that's something we should be grateful for cause the conditions described by participants in the Irish Times article was far from standard. In addition to this, safety crews were struggling in the water. Assuming the Triathlon Ireland statement is accurate, this just lends further credence to irresponsible decisions getting made.

Hi Gusser09. Your comment is a very common reaction and on the face of it understandable. However, participants in endurance events, and Ironman type challenges in particular, are often in the upper age bracket. Endurance events need a very good aerobic base, something that’s built up over time. An athlete who trains consistently will have this good base, and while they might get slower, they’re well able to finish a full Ironman. Usually, there’s a 17 hr time limit and a well trained older competitor will easily finish in that time. Younger, faster athletes might not even get to the finish line. I myself am in my sixties and had entered the 70.3 in Youghal having done full distance events in my fifties and sixties and would have no problem entering another full Ironman type event. Rest assured I wouldn’t even come in the top twenty in my age category. (Incidentally, I pulled out of Youghal because of torn ligaments in my ankle having tripped over a pot while gardening! Absolutely true story).

So, with good training, nutrition etc, a fit person in their fifties sixties or seventies would almost be better suited than a younger person just ‘giving it a go’.

I’ll refrain from commenting on the case in discussion here as the process needs to take place and out of respect to the two people who died and their families.

I was sent another video from a spectator last night and it was pretty distressing.

I won't share the link but basically a swimmer not 50 meters from shore clearly at risk of drowning and the spectators screaming at water safety to get their attention.

I would've been one to say the conditions didn't look that bad and that it wasn't a day for weaker swimmers. Seeing that video though I think IM were very lucky (a terrible word I know) the number of fatalities were only 2.

I think there'll be a line drawn in the sand on this one and I can only hope this doesn't snowball into another insurance crisis for sport. I have seen far too many mtb/road races cancelled due to insurance issues in the past.