We had one at the Boca Grande sprint a couple of years ago. It just goes to show how important it is for race directors to realize how important it is to have as many resources on the water as possible (fire rescue, law enforcement, paddle boarders, etc). It can turn into chaos when you dont have them in place prior to the gun going off.

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Team Firefighter

Sorry to hear. Blessings to the friends and family....
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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

That is sad and i am sorry to hear. I feel bad for the family and the people who had to witness it.

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Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ

Very sad for the family. Our hearts go out to them and the whole extended race family.

And, your right about events having all the resources on hand race day. However; two points, every triathlete past their second year should volunteer on your local race team and why do we still do races that do not have the proper water safety plan?

This is a serious business; 9 drownings in 2011?, and should be populated and organized by serious professionals.

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STIndiana
America Multi-Sport, Inc.
America's Half June 10, 2017
USAT RD Century Club
http://www.americamultisport.com

Truly very sad. Don't know if it was drowning victim's 1st tri but it does illustrate how intimidating and dangerous an open water swim can be. Especially if it's your first race.

My first sprint was a 700m swim. In a matter of minutes the water went from glass to white capping and I was no where close to being prepared. The swim quickly became a matter of survival instead of a competition. It was without a doubt the most difficult thing I have ever done. I looked around once and all of the teenagers on surf boards adn kyack's were facing the opposite direction. There is absolutely no way they could have known if someone went under. Thankfully no one did.

My prayers are with them family and hope peace finds them.

Be prepared before attempting these events. You can always stop running or riding but you can't put your feet down and stop swimming to take a break.

I did the olympic and didn't hear about the sprint death until after the race. That water was really rough and many people were having a tough time. Prayers to his family in this difficult time

I saw and heard most of it. The rescue kayaks had a hard time getting to him, it was sad.

Condolences to his family and friends.

This was posted by his family.

Perhaps some facts. He was an athlete. The type that ate fruit and granola for breakfast, salads for lunch and fish for dinner. Didn't drink, didn't smoke. Ran. Biked. Swam. Traveled the world. Loved his family and friends.
Contrary to the article, the cause of death at this point has not been able to be determined...we are hoping for some conclusive answers in the coming days.
The water that day was rough. The race start was delayed because the water was so rough the organizers even struggled to anchor bouys and even gave up anchoring some. All competitors in our group commented on it; as well as other competitors we've encountered that day and since. Whether the rough water contributed to his passing or not remains to be seen; but what shouldn't go un-addressed is the moto-Safety First. Announcements to competitors about the days unusually rough water risks should have been shared in the spirit of safety and any special safety precautions like international water rescue signals should have been covered for those who didn't know them. To counter-balance the rough waters more boats and lifeguards should have been allocated. While these measures may or may not have helped our dear friend doesn't really matter, the point it there is no reason not to err on the side of safety.
Continuing on the Safety First front. There were no emergency contact phone calls made to our group - the only way we knew of the emergency is because team members planned to meet at the bikes before proceeding - with one person not there questions started to be asked. There was NO support offered in trying to find his WIFE who was elsewhere on the course - it was up to us to load into cars and drive the island looking for her, biker by biker. There were no "ears" at the water stations, no cell phone chains or walkie's for us to leverage. How does an event expect to rapidly evacuate someone if they have issues on the bike or the run?? Or what if there was a biker/runner in distress - was there an action plan? Simple Safety First would dictate that there be an action plan in place to use those stations as efficiently and effectively as possible - this is a huge missed opportunity.
And just from a pure human kind perspective the event organizers should have jumped in and helped find his wife, that is more just disappointing than anything. No one from the event reached out while we were at the hospital for hours, or even today - there has been nothing. We know there is nothing that can be said to change the days events or make them easier; but care and condolences certainly wouldn't have gone un-noticed.
He's loved and missed; in his honor it would be great to read that next years race has seen new safety and emergency measures implemented

Competed in this event as well and would like to express condolences to the family, but have found no information to facilitate contact.

BTW, don't know if was a contributing factor, but the event was very poorly organized.

My condolensces to the family. I would like to point out that every year drownings during triathlon do occur and are increasing in number as the sport continues to grow. Mr Petty's death is a terrible tragedy. I have read some reports about the incident and there is some evidence that Mr Petty was signalling for rescue, but indicated that lifeguards should help others first before they rescued him. In this case, it apprears that the USAT and Ironman Approved swim safety device for triathletes, The Swim IT, would have prevented his drowning. Regarding your hope that Mr Petty's drowning in the Jekyll Island Triathlon be the stimulus to implement changes in 'safety' procedures, adding The Swim IT would provide an additional layer of safety to athletes and dramatically reduce the risk of drowning! Perhaps the race organizers will encourage the athletes to wear the USAT approved device in the same way that they require helmets!

Thanks, Rick
President, The Swim IT
[http://www.myswimit.com]

Just an idea. Our police, swat team, fire and rescue have dive teams. Also there are always people who are taking diving certification. Could they be recruited to be under water ? I know nothing about diving, could they spread out and have a better view of people ?

Using a post about someone's death as a platform to advertise for your product comes off as a bit crude and insensitive.

That is one hell of a presumption. While I agree - can you find a DROWNING? The same person could have just as easily had a heart attack in a Taco Bell.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

How about just having them know how to god damn swim?

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Completely agree.

swimmers can drown. Bikers can make mistakes and runners can cramp etc.

Visibility is usually terrible in most bodies of water, be it ocean or lakes...at least most of the lakes I've swam in have pretty poor clarity. Maybe it's different looking up from the bottom though. In clear water it is an option for sure. I imagine they have them at Kona. At IMCZ, the water is crystal clear for 30 ft and the have scuba/rescue under the water for the swim. You can see them while swimming and they seem to get a kick out of being waved at...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDy9-SYS5_U

In any case- I would sue the RD

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Very sad to see and my condolences go the family and friends. Painful to lose another member of the multisport community.

Before the inevitable accusations, blaming, and hindsight solutions are offered, however, let's figure out what cause the death. Here is what is being reported:


A participant in the swim portion of the Turtle Crawl Triathlon on Jekyll Island died this morning, the Georgia State Patrol said.
The 44-year-old man suffered an apparent cardiac arrest and was rescued from the water by event lifeguards, said Eric Garvey, spokesman for the Jekyll Island Authority.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/...island#ixzz20evsc7cZ


From the Florida Times Union:

"... The 44-year-old man suffered an apparent cardiac arrest and was rescued from the water by event lifeguards, said Eric Garvey, spokesman for the Jekyll Island Authority.

EMTs from the Jekyll Island Fire Department met the lifeguards on the beach and began performing CPR immediately, Garvey said. ..."

[Link]

UPDATE: Although seas were choppy the day of the Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl Triathlon, event organizers believe Chris Petty, 44, of Smyrna died from cardiac arrest, not drowning.

http://smyrna.patch.com/...ll-island-triathalon


Christopher Petty, 44, was in the swimming portion of the Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl Triathlon when he suffered an apparent cardiac arrest and was rescued from the water by event lifeguards, according to Jekyll Island Authority spokesman Eric Garvey.
The Florida Times-Union reported that rescuers performed CPR on the beach, and Petty was taken to Southeast Georgia Health System's Brunswick hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

http://www.ajc.com/...dies-in-1442468.html



Nearly all (if not all) of these drownings have been later found to be the result of cardiac arrest. It is not an inability to swim. It is not a lack of preparation. It is circumstances beyond anyone's control.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Common theme - that however, as you know, does not stop us from wanting to blame some RD, and make the sport on a whole seem far more dangerous that it really is. While that does not diminish the tragedy - in each and every instance...if if was you or me, how would you rather die? Racing, or sitting in a Taco Bell drive thru? I know my optimal path. Racing.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I understand your opinion that condolensces are the only 'proper' response; however, this is not Mr. Petty's memorial service, but a forum for discussion about what happened during the Jekyll Island Triathlon swim and how to prevent the drowning from happening again to the living! After your indignation expires, please accept that I didn't cause the tragedy, but I think I can prevent the next one with the Swim IT!

You should act 'properly' and send your condolensces to the family at their memorial website for Mr. Petty. [http://www.legacy.com/...7751112&cid=full]

Come on now, can you invent a wetsuit with a built in AED? I mean, shit, EKG, EEG, why not an MRI? There is nothing that was going to change the series of events - but, man, we got electric shifting - why not electric AED wetsuits?

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?