2 competitors have died after the conclusion of the Ironman 70.3 Wisconsin triathlon last weekend in Madison. Both athletes died in the swim portion of the event, which continues to be by-far the most dangerous portion of a triathlon.
38-year old Todd Mahoney, a firefighter with the Madison Fire Department, was found unresponsive in the water on Lake Monona on Saturday morning. About an hour earlier, 61-year old Michael McCulloch was also found unresponsive in the water.
Both men were transported to a hospital. McCulloch was declared dead shortly after arriving, while Mahoney was in critical condition for 2 days before eventually dying on Tuesday. Both men are believed to have suffered ‘medical events’ in the water, with the medical examiner declaring McCulloch’s death a drowning as a result of a medical event.
A week earlier, a 59-year old man died in the swim portion of a triathlon in neighboring Jefferson County.
According to a 2016 study by the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, deaths and cardiac arrest during triathlons is not all-that-rare. After reviewing data from about 9 million triathlon participants in a 31-year period, statistics they found:
- About 1.7 deaths per 100,000 people occur in triathlon
- The majority of those deaths and cardiac arrests occurred in men who were middle-age and older
- Deaths occurred at a higher rate in first time participants
- Most deaths in triathlons came during the swimming portion
- They found a total of 135 sudden deaths, resuscitated cardiac arrests, and trauma-related deaths.
Between 1985 and 2016, 109 of those 135 events resulted in deaths, with 72 occurring in the swim, 20 occurring in the cycling portion, and 17 occurring in the run. Deaths in cycling events were primarily due to trauma caused by collisions.
Swimming is both the first leg and the shortest leg (by time and distance) of most triathlons.
Due to the high risk of undetected cardiovascular disease in those who have died, experts have recommended better screenings for participants.
I suffered a cardiac arrest and only by sheer luck am I here today. I took part in short mid winter ocean swim and was fit and easily capable of the event. An underlying cardiac condition and the cold water combined to cause the arrest. The chain of events that took place that saved my life sounds like fiction, but needless to say I am extremely grateful to the people that saved me, mainly the off duty paramedic who was having a coffee and just happened to have a defib in his car nearby! The nature of cardiac conditions is that we just simply can’t predict every event and unfortunately these things do happen. I’m actually fitter now after quad… Read more »
Many people believe that being fit is enough to get through the swim. Training for the swim is essential. Swimming is the only activity that required conscious breath control.
Such a tragedy. This is 6 deaths this year globally,
To add to the comments…….one common factor is being in the water, likely colder than body temperature. In the data presented, and incidents in the open water community, cases/deaths have happened with, and without wetsuits, in long swims and short swims, to men and women, young, and old, fresh water or salt, colder waters vs. warmer water, experienced and inexperienced athletes, and early in the season, as well as late.
The immersion factor causes vassal constrictions in the peripheral part of the vascular system, creating a back pressure of sorts in the chest cavity. This higher blood pressure can induce cardiac, as well as pulmonary conditions.
There is a… Read more »
Everybody gonna die .
Everybody Wang Chung tonight
I have seen races where they have a separate wave for people new to triathlon or for people who identify as weaker swimmers (and they get a colored swim cap making it easier for lifeguards to identify). I also agree that qualifying races/standards could prevent these incidents.
Better yet, just eliminate the swim portion. It has zero impact on the race results unless they make it much longer. Go to duathlons as the triathlon is really just a legs event anyway, at least as far as outcomes. The risks from the swim portion don’t seem worth it.
If they want to keep the swim in there, participants should have some minimum required 1500 meter swim entry time, verified by USMS or USAS.
I don’t know why there isn’t more discussion of mandating inflatable life jackets for OW and Triathlons. They make fairly compact devices for big wave surfers and SUP. Seems like part of the problem is that if you have a medical event coming on, if you were able to inflate a lifesaving device this would give you the time you needed for medical support. Thoughts?
That’s a really interesting idea. Wouldn’t save all of the lives, but presumably it would save some of them.
Great idea!
Participants who fit a potential ‘at risk’ profile should be required to get a stress EKG before participating. Identifying potential at-risk participants can be accomplished with a pre-participation medical screening. I also believe 70.3 and full Ironmans should require qualifying races. This is the case in many ultramarathon running races such as the Comrades Marathon (must complete a marathon in faster than 4 hr 50 min to participate) and Hardrock 100 (must complete a 100 mile race to qualify for entry).
As a physician and former college swimmer, I wonder what the at risk population would look like. I doubt a routine, screening ecg would be of benefit and certainly not a routine echocardiogram. It would be interesting to know what the true cause of death was. This certainly will make me think twice when a patient tells me they’re doing a big race with or without a water component.