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NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons
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From August 8th New York Times. Interesting to note that of the 9 autopsies of people who died during the swim, 7 of them had cardiac irregularities.
http://www.nytimes.com/...?_r=1&ref=sports

Death During Swim Renews Questions About Event’s Safety By FREDERICK DREIER
A 64-year-old man died after having a heart attack during the swimming leg of Sunday’s New York City Triathlon, race officials said. A 40-year-old woman also had a heart attack during the 1,500-meter swim, according the New York Fire Department. She was in critical condition at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.
The man, who was competing as part of a three-person relay team, was spotted unconscious in the water about halfway into the swim, according to the race’s director, Bill Burke. A race official confirmed the man was Michael Kudryk, 64, of Freehold, N.J. The swim portion of the competition took place in the Hudson River, starting at a wharf parallel to 96th Street and finishing near the 79th Street boat basin. Race officials got Kudryk onto a fire rescue boat operated by the New York City Police Department, and then into an ambulance at 79th Street, and took him to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.
“Nobody goes into this event expecting this type of tragedy,” Burke said. “It’s one of those unforeseen life events that happens when you get this many people to participate in physical activity.”
The medical examiner’s office was expected to conduct an autopsy on Kudryk on Monday. No additional details on the female triathlete were available.
The death is the second in the 11-year history of the race, which incorporates a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10K run, but it raises questions about the safety of the open-water swimming leg of triathlons. In 2008, the 32-year-old Esteban Neira of Argentina, died while swimming in the Hudson. Neira’s death was linked to a condition involving high blood pressure. His death occurred during a year in which at least eight people died during the swim portion of a triathlon. In May of this year, Dr. Michael Wiggins, a 42-year-old who had an irregular heartbeat, died while swimming in the Pelican Fest Triathlon in Fort Collins, Colo.
In 2010 the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study assessing the risk of sudden death during triathlons. The study said that from 2006 to 2008, 14 people died while participating in triathlons, 13 while swimming. The report said that seven of the nine of that group that had an autopsy had died from cardiovascular abnormalities. But the study said the challenges caused by open water swims hampered life saving attempts.
“Because triathlons begin with chaotic, highly dense mass starts, there is opportunity for bodily contact and exposure to cold turbulent water,” the report said. “Triathlons also pose inherent obstacles to identifying distressed athletes and initiating timely resuscitation on open water.”
Namgyal Galden, a 27-year-old triathlete from Boston, said choppy water in the Hudson was an added challenge this year. But Galden said the race’s decision to allow only 20 athletes to dive into the water at a time — instead of hundreds — cut down on the usual roughness of a mass-participant swim start.
“It was very easy; you usually get kicked or whacked, and that didn’t happen to me,” Galden said. “I think it’s better than the old system.”
Burke said the race had 53 kayakers, 32 lifeguards, 4 police boats, 3 fire department boats, 2 jet skis and 2 launch boats patrolling the swim. He said each of the boats had paramedic or rescue divers aboard.
“It’s a flotilla of support,” he said.
The swim was not the only portion of the race in which rescue crews were needed. A number of cyclists among the 3,900 participants were sent tumbling on rain-slicked roads. And as temperatures rose into the low 90s on a humid day, athletes suffering from dehydration limped into medical tents.
Ben Collins, who won the men’s race in 1 hour 48 minutes 11 seconds, spent an hour and a half receiving intravenous fluids and cooling down in an ice bath after finishing. Collins broke away from the men’s pro field during the bicycle leg, distancing himself from the prerace favorite Greg Bennett, a four-time New York City Triathlon winner. As Collins walked across the finish line in Central Park, he slunk to his knees and muttered a “Go Lions” in supports of Columbia University, where he was a 2005 graduate.
Rebeccah Wassner won the women’s race, her third straight New York City Triathlon, finishing it in 2:03:19.
Jasmine Oeinck, a professional triathlete from Boulder, Colo., required doctor’s attention after crashing on her bicycle. Oeinck was the first pro woman to exit the water, and rode alongside Wassner. While cycling on a rain-drenched stretch of the West Side Highway near 150th Street, Oeinck struck a pothole and cartwheeled over her bicycle, sustaining deep scrapes on her back and legs, and a gash on her right elbow. She was taken to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital, where she received nine stitches in her arm. “I thought it was just a puddle; turns out it was a pothole,” Oeinck said.
Oeinck said she had heard the news of two competitors having heart attacks. She said that she thought that the triathlon’s increase in popularity had attracted a wider range of athletes to the sport.
“It’s now become a common trend is for people to use triathlon as a way to lose weight,” Oeinck said. “But you go to races and look around, and you start to ask yourself, ‘Is this race too much for that person?’ ”
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [brokenspoke] [ In reply to ]
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Her comments are spot on.

Oeinck said she had heard the news of two competitors having heart attacks. She said that she thought that the triathlon’s increase in popularity had attracted a wider range of athletes to the sport.
“It’s now become a common trend is for people to use triathlon as a way to lose weight,” Oeinck said. “But you go to races and look around, and you start to ask yourself, ‘Is this race too much for that person?’

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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [brokenspoke] [ In reply to ]
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Of course, triathlons are the leading cause of death in the USA! Naturally. I hate these types of "news" reports. I can't wait until the movie "Wall-E" becomes reality for us. Everything will be too dangerous for us to do.
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [prattzc] [ In reply to ]
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prattzc wrote:
Of course, triathlons are the leading cause of death in the USA! Naturally. I hate these types of "news" reports. I can't wait until the movie "Wall-E" becomes reality for us. Everything will be too dangerous for us to do.

did you even read the article?
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [SeasonsChange] [ In reply to ]
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SeasonsChange wrote:
prattzc wrote:
Of course, triathlons are the leading cause of death in the USA! Naturally. I hate these types of "news" reports. I can't wait until the movie "Wall-E" becomes reality for us. Everything will be too dangerous for us to do.

did you even read the article?

Yes, yes I did. However, I don't use pink font for sarcasm.
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [jrcarson] [ In reply to ]
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jrcarson wrote:
Her comments are spot on.

Oeinck said she had heard the news of two competitors having heart attacks. She said that she thought that the triathlon’s increase in popularity had attracted a wider range of athletes to the sport.
“It’s now become a common trend is for people to use triathlon as a way to lose weight,” Oeinck said. “But you go to races and look around, and you start to ask yourself, ‘Is this race too much for that person?’

I agree as well. I'm all for people getting active and adopting a healthy lifestyle but I see too many really overweight people doing races in the blazing Texas summer heat. I did a sprint race here in the Houston area yesterday. The heat index was 100 for an early-AM race and there was barely a cloud in the sky. It's one of the largest sprint races in Texas at 1500 people and it has become very competitive at the pointy end of the stick. It's also a very newbie friendly race and there were several hundred first timers -- many of which were on the heavy side. The heat on the 3.65 mile run kicked my ass and I'm experienced and in damn good shape. I can't imagine being 50, 75, 100 pounds overweight and dealing with that. I applaud their effort as their heart is in the right place but I don't think it's very smart or safe. I guess nobody wants to adopt the baby steps mentality towards things. To quote Veruca Salt, "I want it now!"

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [brokenspoke] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
In 2010 the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study assessing the risk of sudden death during triathlons. The study said that from 2006 to 2008, 14 people died while participating in triathlons, 13 while swimming. The report said that seven of the nine of that group that had an autopsy had died from cardiovascular abnormalities. But the study said the challenges caused by open water swims hampered life saving attempts.


“Because triathlons begin with chaotic, highly dense mass starts, there is opportunity for bodily contact and exposure to cold turbulent water,” the report said. “Triathlons also pose inherent obstacles to identifying distressed athletes and initiating timely resuscitation on open water.”

Should the WTC be concerned about this? I say yes - Sounds like preemptive lawyerin' to me.

I don't know how you balance the inherent dangers of S-B-R with the litigious bent in our judicial system. That may be the achilles heel of triathlon as an organized sport, over the long haul.




------------------

- I do all my own stunts
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [jrcarson] [ In reply to ]
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Absolutely spot on.

-Robert

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [jrcarson] [ In reply to ]
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Who is to be the judge of that, though?

There already is a responsibility of every individual who signs up for a triathlon. The waiver they agree to is: "YOU UNDERSTAND THAT PARTICIPATION IN THE EVENT IS POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS, AND THAT A REGISTERED PARTY SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE UNLESS THEY ARE MEDICALLY ABLE AND PROPERLY TRAINED."

Should a race organization be responsible for making decisions as to who is medically able? How about a measure of "this amount of training is sufficient"? As an adult, isn't it our own responsibility to connect with our doctors, our coaches, our friends and ask for their opinions, and then to make their own individual choice?
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [GMAN 19030] [ In reply to ]
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Sprint triathlons are baby steps.

Beginner TRIs are even harder to find.

Summer is triathlon season. Yes it is brutally hot this summer. No one I know doing any outdoor activity can control the weather either.

It is up to each individual person to know their limits and abilities and to stay within then on rave day.

I've list 40 and still have 50 to go. I will also be racing my own race next Sunday. I know I can go 23 mph on my bike. I also know I can attack hills like no one my size should never be able too. I can even swim quickly but just for 100 to 150 m now.

However I also know that if I do any of the things I can do at max ability, I will never finish. It's up to each competitor to be personally responsible for themselves.

My race plan is to go about 75% of my ability until the last mile of the run and see how I feel then.

I'll race much faster once the rest of the weight is gone in another season or two.




GMAN 19030 wrote:
jrcarson wrote:
Her comments are spot on.

Oeinck said she had heard the news of two competitors having heart attacks. She said that she thought that the triathlon’s increase in popularity had attracted a wider range of athletes to the sport.
“It’s now become a common trend is for people to use triathlon as a way to lose weight,” Oeinck said. “But you go to races and look around, and you start to ask yourself, ‘Is this race too much for that person?’

I agree as well. I'm all for people getting active and adopting a healthy lifestyle but I see too many really overweight people doing races in the blazing Texas summer heat. I did a sprint race here in the Houston area yesterday. The heat index was 100 for an early-AM race and there was barely a cloud in the sky. It's one of the largest sprint races in Texas at 1500 people and it has become very competitive at the pointy end of the stick. It's also a very newbie friendly race and there were several hundred first timers -- many of which were on the heavy side. The heat on the 3.65 mile run kicked my ass and I'm experienced and in damn good shape. I can't imagine being 50, 75, 100 pounds overweight and dealing with that. I applaud their effort as their heart is in the right place but I don't think it's very smart or safe. I guess nobody wants to adopt the baby steps mentality towards things. To quote Veruca Salt, "I want it now!"

--------------------------------------------------------

You will remain the same person, before, during and after the race. So the result, no matter how important, will not define you. The journey is what matters. ~ Chrissie W.
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [Peanut] [ In reply to ]
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Here is the release in detail..

http://www.elevation-athletics.com/...USAT_Waiver_Form.pdf

Just a FYI.. many legal jurisdictions hold that the argument that you didn't read it.. is no defense.
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [brokenspoke] [ In reply to ]
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(pink)
I think people need mandatory testing before:
Changing a car tire
Walking around the mall
Water skiing
Reading slow twitch
running
biking
swimming
playing golf
drinking beer in HOT weather
if their weight is to high "according to the government"
going to the mountains
having children
voting
moving furniture
being arrested
Doing these before being tested is just a law suit waiting to happen. The Government should step in
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [brokenspoke] [ In reply to ]
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Reports stating female has passed as well.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44060936/ns/sports/
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [AnthonyS] [ In reply to ]
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AnthonyS wrote:
Sprint triathlons are baby steps.

Beginner TRIs are even harder to find.

Summer is triathlon season. Yes it is brutally hot this summer. No one I know doing any outdoor activity can control the weather either.

It is up to each individual person to know their limits and abilities and to stay within then on rave day.

I've list 40 and still have 50 to go. I will also be racing my own race next Sunday. I know I can go 23 mph on my bike. I also know I can attack hills like no one my size should never be able too. I can even swim quickly but just for 100 to 150 m now.

However I also know that if I do any of the things I can do at max ability, I will never finish. It's up to each competitor to be personally responsible for themselves.

My race plan is to go about 75% of my ability until the last mile of the run and see how I feel then.

I'll race much faster once the rest of the weight is gone in another season or two.




GMAN 19030 wrote:
jrcarson wrote:
Her comments are spot on.

Oeinck said she had heard the news of two competitors having heart attacks. She said that she thought that the triathlon’s increase in popularity had attracted a wider range of athletes to the sport.
“It’s now become a common trend is for people to use triathlon as a way to lose weight,” Oeinck said. “But you go to races and look around, and you start to ask yourself, ‘Is this race too much for that person?’


I agree as well. I'm all for people getting active and adopting a healthy lifestyle but I see too many really overweight people doing races in the blazing Texas summer heat. I did a sprint race here in the Houston area yesterday. The heat index was 100 for an early-AM race and there was barely a cloud in the sky. It's one of the largest sprint races in Texas at 1500 people and it has become very competitive at the pointy end of the stick. It's also a very newbie friendly race and there were several hundred first timers -- many of which were on the heavy side. The heat on the 3.65 mile run kicked my ass and I'm experienced and in damn good shape. I can't imagine being 50, 75, 100 pounds overweight and dealing with that. I applaud their effort as their heart is in the right place but I don't think it's very smart or safe. I guess nobody wants to adopt the baby steps mentality towards things. To quote Veruca Salt, "I want it now!"

Good for you (the bolded part). Too bad others don't share in your idea of being personally responsible for themselves. I just can't imagine getting into the water not being 110% certain I can swim that distance in a safe manner.

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [brokenspoke] [ In reply to ]
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When I ran the Marathon de Paris in 2009 - ASO - the race organizer - required all runners submit a medical certificate that states (by a physician) that you are fit to race. The certificate needed to be certified by a physician. I thought that was a little overboard. However, I do think its fair for race organizers to set minimum time standards for all races. Sure, people can fudge their estimate but it shifts the liability (at least some) onto them.
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [GMAN 19030] [ In reply to ]
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GMAN 19030 wrote:
I agree as well. I'm all for people getting active and adopting a healthy lifestyle but I see too many really overweight people doing races in the blazing Texas summer heat. I did a sprint race here in the Houston area yesterday. The heat index was 100 for an early-AM race and there was barely a cloud in the sky. It's one of the largest sprint races in Texas at 1500 people and it has become very competitive at the pointy end of the stick. It's also a very newbie friendly race and there were several hundred first timers -- many of which were on the heavy side. The heat on the 3.65 mile run kicked my ass and I'm experienced and in damn good shape. I can't imagine being 50, 75, 100 pounds overweight and dealing with that. I applaud their effort as their heart is in the right place but I don't think it's very smart or safe. I guess nobody wants to adopt the baby steps mentality towards things. To quote Veruca Salt, "I want it now!"


I paddled safety boat there, big yeller boat at the start line.
I worked my ass off due to people not making it the first 100m w/o hyperventilating. A LOT of newbies were out, way more than Im used to dealing with on an event like this. The guy at the first buoy kept 4-5 people hanging on the side of his boat most of the morning.

I usually discourage people from quitting, sunday I was telling them to get out of the water.
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [AnthonyS] [ In reply to ]
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This is actually a question I have for RD's, but for exercise phys people out there as well.Everyone talks about the heat as though its a rite of passage. ..."the hotter the better..just do it no matter..blah blah blah." What is too hot? what is too hot for "in shape" triathletes? There has to be guidlines somewhere. I know the national weather service sends out the heat advisories when the heat index is like 95-100, but does that apply to athletes? If my body temp is 98.6deg and I go running or biking my core body temp goes up. What cools the body.The outside temp and to a limited extent fluids you drink. So if the heat index is 100...or 105...or 115 how can one possibly cool ones body? Short of cold water submersion it is impossible.

In the running world for marathons there are guidlines that the RD's follow with respect to temperature and the amout of water needed and when to pull the plug.

There seems to be no guidelines in triathlon. Eagleman has been insanely hot the past few years with temps on the pavement in the unshaded run course in the 110 range (not the 90deg reported from the shade). How can this be at all safe. It seems that it is a catastrophe in the waiting
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Re: NY Times Article on deaths during Triathlons [AnthonyS] [ In reply to ]
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AnthonyS wrote:
It's up to each competitor to be personally responsible for themselves.

No. This is America. You sue other people when something happens to you even if it was totally 100% your fault and all the dangers were explained to you beforehand and you agreed to it.

Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3
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