Ed, this just sounds horrible. I hate to hear this happen to anyone and I find it disappointing that another elite/pro triathlete behaved with such disrespect for another human’s well-being. No championship is worth such lack of compassion. Do you remember if he had any sort of accent? Or maybe anything else distinctive about him that you may have picked up in those few seconds? Bike manufacture/tri kit/sponsor on kit? Sometimes, despite serious trauma, people can recall quite a few things even in very short periods of interaction.

More importantly, please continue to monitor your condition and maybe get second MRI’s/ opinions done by specialists in that injured region should it continue to significantly cause you pain and discomfort. I found additional bones broken myself when I did this. A close triathlete friend of mine found ligaments completely torn away from muscle (in surgery) when nothing solid significant showed up in scans. Be good to yourself and I hope you heal well.

I think the issue with this is they need to generate enough $$ to put the race on. WTC is a money making machine so the more the merrier for them. Agreed that would solve a lot of issues, and let it only roll until someone takes it (usually not more than 3rd). I can only imagine how many wrecks would have happened if it rained all day long. It could have been worse. Ed, speedy healing to you...don't skip out on your vitamin E.

Thanks a lot. I'm not a pro, just an AG.

I *think* I remember some sort of accent but I could not tell you what it was. I also *think* his kit was black and white, but really I do not know for sure. I was not thinking straight.

For a long time (30 minutes, an hour... hard to tell) after the crash I was shaking pretty uncontrollably, and occasionally feel very emotional about it. I was not in a super stable frame of mind.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I was talking with my buddy and I think you need to go further. Even if you just take AG winners, at 112 qualifying races, that's still over 2000 racers.

I think qualifying should just be at the regional championships. Set it so that at the WC you have something like 20-30 people in each AG and that's it.

They would have to scale back the production level of the race, and accept making less money on it, so may be a pipe dream. But it would also make it a damn prestigious race.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

So it felt much safer on race day then it did when we rode it in the morning on Thursday. I imagine the groups behind me would have seen a course that was littered with water bottles and Co2’s due to everyone taking speed bumps at full speed.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

Race pics... You should be able to pick him out as he must have passed a race photographer closely after you at some point before the crash.

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What's your CdA?

I bet it was better up at the pointy end where you were. Were the amateurs taking the full road on the descent? On the live stream the pros were and the commentators were saying athletes were allowed to but were told to primairly stay in the right lane.

Maybe seeing a picture will trigger my memory but I'm not sure I will be able to recognize him.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

That is also a thought I had. Make the regional championships much more if an actual championship rather than just another basic 70.3 with a longer name. That way they can then make the other 70.3s non qualifying races and have them much more friendly to beginners (easy swims, non-technical bikes, easy runs). On that note - as the bike skills of triathletes get worse and worse this may become more necessary.

Given the WTC business model, I think less technical courses is the only way to improve bike safety.

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29 years and counting

I think you may be right, which is too bad. The course yesterday really was glorious. Worthy of a world championship.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I was not till I got passed by 2 guys using full 2 lanes, then I group of 3 passed me also using full lanes. After that I just stuck with them must of way down just following there line: both lanes all the way to the bottom. I would say my path down was pretty safe... only saw one guy crashed out but man he looked to be in bad shape, lots of blood.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

I'm not sure putting much energy into finding this guy is going to be beneficial to you. Obviously you're pissed off and rightly so but there's not much recourse after the fact is there?

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

ITU runs the actual world's. WTC is a private corporation.

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Ed, I agree with this. The past is the past. We are all racers on race day trying to all go as fast as we can and each of us with a different set of risk tolerances on race day that one the aggregate influence everyone around us....beside us, behind us and even in front of us at that moment (what we do now may affect the race in front of us seconds or minutes or hours from now).

What I can say is none of us can change the past. The easiest way to get past this is focus on being the best man Ed can be in the future...racer, friends, family person, CO worker. You will have positive emotions to build your recovery from. I know you may want closure. The best closure is focusing on kicking all in the future. This weekend while you were in Nice I just did my first half Ironman since we both did Worlds in Zelle Am See 4 years ago. Ruptured discs, then finally getting good enough to ride last summer and then being run over by a bus and more rehab for months. Did my first running in 4 years in March. First Olympic tri in July. 8 weeks later, first half Ironman and matched my time from Zelle Am See 4 years ago and went 4:54 on an easier course but 4 years older on a broken body. I have found just moving forward is the best path. I am just glad you are going to be around to race. Thanks for the help on the rowing thread. If I did not have that positive support from you guys there is no way I would be biking and running again. That rowing machine got me over the hump.


Get well, move forward and good health and more Pbs to come. You are young and have a lot of miles left.

Thanks, Dev. You guys are right that there is no recourse. I'm very lucky that I believe I am going to fully recover relatively quickly. Other people are in much worse shape than I am. I can't stop thinking about the guy that went over the cliff or the guy that toothengineer mentioned covered in blood - I saw that guy too.

That is great news about your racing, I am really happy to hear that you can race again.

I don't think this guy simply made a different personal risk decision than I did. I think he made an objectively irresponsible decision that put me in the hospital, is costing me thousands of dollars and took away my world championship experience. And then he told me it was my fault and left me in the middle of the road.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Are you saying that a jurisdicational global sports governing monopoly is in a better position to run a world championships than a private company. Do we think that Major League Baseball, Tour De France, Tennis Grand Slam events, NBA Championships, Stanley Cup finals are less worthy top world tournaments/sporting events than the associated world championships in any sport? The private corporation world championships (in most case self claimed), are much better quality sporting events than the sporting body monopoly worlds' events. In hockey, no one (except a few random Canadians because our teams can no longer win the Stanley Cup) care about the IIHF Worlds'. The latter tournament is the tournament for those who can't progress in (or never get into) the NHL playoffs.

Dev

Don't be so quick to assume there's no recourse.

Ed first thing my wife asked this morning when we got up. “God is there nothing you can do to that guy that caused his crash”.... I honestly think she was ready to go hunt him down for you.

.... report on IG that there is now a “fatality” can only hope it’s not true.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

The guy might have been nervous about this post-crash and kept the activity private or deleted it.

Sorry to hear about your crash. It sounds like a nightmare. At least you’re alive and will come back stronger.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

Ed, I also agree with Devashish_paul as well. I have definitely seen my share of people who have attempted to find others in hope of righting their situation and I totally get it. But I found in their situations they spent a lot of time and additional energy out of their own life only to come up empty in what they were seeking. I have been thinking of your situation since last night and I keep coming back to this very thought which will probably not be popular amongst many in our triathlon community and forum...

As I see it, an accident/collision should absolutely be something of a game stopper for all those involved. I am not speaking of the bike collisions where both parties can get up, wipe the road rash off and continue on. I personally think triathlon rules need to change to cause the parties involved to not leave the scene when at least one is significantly injured, despite the purpose or importance of the race. What if Ed did receive a head injury? Since when is a race more important than human life and their safety as they lie in a road helpless, hurt, in critical conditions or sometimes already deceased? I do believe all parties need to stop, at least try to render aid, flag down assistance and be able to give an account of what happened to an official of some sort. Maybe at a bare minimum give some sort of race official their information if they choose to continue to race on so they may be contacted later for a statement. If this was a vehicle that hit Ed then it would have been illegal to leave the scene of an accident. I am not looking for someone to blame or be liable, I am focused on those statements that could help medical professionals render the best possible aid, especially to those who are incapable of speaking/understanding it themselves. Those statements could also help the racer’s family members understand and come to some sort of peace of mind.

This reminds me the recent tragedy of Jill Levy Morris in IMMT. Luckily another male racer saw her just before her death. He witnessed her dire condition as she was still cycling and seconds after he passed her, he heard and saw the aftermath. He had compassion, he stopped his race and was able to give critical information that explained how this tragedy happened to race officials. He was able to fill in the gaps that he believed she was potentially in a state of swerving and passing out when the first service vehicle thought he cleared her. Obviously a horrible situation for everyone but at least people can understand what happened because the witnesses/those involved stopped what they were doing to figure it out. At least the family can understand from someone who was there how her life ended when the two parties involved couldn’t speak or make sense out of it. Human safety and compassion should be above anything else.

Really sorry to hear of your accident and also to hear of the other competitors terrible attitude and behaviour.
When I hear stories of folks kicking and punching people in the swim and then leaving competitors seriously injured on the road, I fear for our society. I don’t know if it’s the competitiveness or just the general callousness of folks that drives this behaviour but I find it very sad.
I really hope you heal up soon.

Will

That's terrible. I hope it's not true.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Just another thought, was there a timing pad that was crossed nearby? At least you may be able to narrow it down to a smaller group? That is if someone would have access to that???
Again, focus on positive healing!

As cyclists, we all live in fear of the hit-and-run car driver that leaves us in a heap by the side of the road. That type of scumbag does so because he can avoid recourse.

Granting the reckless triathlete the same opportunity to “run” without recourse is a similar injustice. Even if public shaming is the only recourse for this POS, then that might set an example for the next guy.

Track the MFer down!

I had an experience yesterday where an Australian cyclist zoomed between me and a guy in front of me on a hairpin, passing me from the outside and the guy in front of me on the inside. I said “be careful” with a neutral tone, and he turned around twice to yell some unintelligible series of curses. Obviously, the dude was in full amp mode. He finished about 100th in the AG, so what the hell was the point?