what happened?

Not sure why an article is written up, and then the cause of death is left out? It's not odd to want to know, and I don't want to make assumptions based on ambiguities in the article.

From the article it sounds as if he may have taken his own life. Losing anyone is tragic, losing someone to suicide is beyond words.

Condolences to his family and friends.

ETA: if it was suicide, there is nothing wrong with writing it. Hell, we SHOULD talk about it. It's this goddamn stigma/taboo/tip-toeing around mental health issues that makes people afraid to talk about their problems, let alone ask for help.

Read the article it seemed apparent how he died. (If incorrect or "insentive" I can delete this, I just assumed based on the article it was suicide).



He also said that it has not been all smooth sailing since, but the trend was going up. I never thought much about what that meant, or maybe I simply wanted to see that all was well now. But maybe we all need to listen more closely to what people tell us, and offer help more frequently.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Yes, I read that. When speaking about sensitive matters, however, I'd rather not assume based on ambiguities.

+1
ambiguities on such a sensitive matter, on social media.....if the story is posted, it should be a bit more specific. People are already making their own conclusions...

^^Agreed. Perhaps authors feel they are being sensitive by not stating the cause, but in reality knowing will be more helpful and cause more sympathy as opposed to wild guessing. I think the John Singleton death recently shows how there can be a value to stating things. The family has used the unfortunate and untimely death to highlight the high risk of certain racial/hypertension issues. I commend them for that and feel they are doing a great service to their own community.

I don't necessarily disagree but I think we may need to have some compassion for Herbert too as I am sure there a plenty of people that may have respected the privacy. It is hard writing articles like this because people will be on both sides of the fence. You really can't win either way these days.

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Respectfully disagree.

Having faced mental health issues myself, I can tell you firsthand that the reason I did NOT get help until it was way past too late was because of the whole "we shouldn't talk about that sort of thing" attitude that has been drilled into us for decades. In our society, it's still not acceptable to say "I'm not ok", so people don't, and they get worse and worse, and then they do something irreversible.

Nobody needs gory details, but when someone makes that terrible choice, we need to be honest and open about it, and even more, we need to TALK about it, and the why of it, because idf we dont, we cant help others from going down that road.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you are going to write about someone dying who took their own life, you have to confront it in its entirety.

I really do not know the details other than he is no longer alive. Digging deeper to get more details seemed rude to me, thus no details from me.

100% agree Dave. too many people think they can't ask for help and see killing themselves as a way out.

I have a great mate who I have been seeing a professional with to help him as I just don't have the words but this lady is really helping him and he is in a much better spot today than he was 6 months ago.

I'd rather give up several hours a week to spend with him than him not be here and also the toll it would take on his wife and 2 children (2) (5).

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If it was in fact concealed (and if it was in fact suicide), it was probably out of respect for the family. But I think you're absolutely right. By all measures, it's a problem that's getting worse, particularly in youth, and we really should be opening all lines of communication so that the vulnerable can take some small comfort in knowing that even the glossiest of pictures is sometimes only a veneer over something that's far more average and relatable.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

Oh wow, I was virtually certain based upon the tone of the quoted sentences posted above that it was suicide. I think many others were as well.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

Fwiw, I do think we should talk about this stuff too. I have often thought about what I want my own next purpose and part of me really wants to work with all elites athletes, not just triathletes, transition away from sport. It took a close relationship with someone with severe mental illness to come to the conclusion of just how necessary talking to and helping people out is when it comes to their mental health. I just have a deep appreciation too as someone who can often times open his mouth publicly and take flack from all directions. Not everyone has the same viewpoint on things but I agree, we should be talking about these things if affected family members are ok with it.

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I was not told nor was I there, but based from what I heard (and what I did not) I also assume it is suicide, but would not put that in the story since I do not know for sure.

My grandpa took his own life when I was 11. My aunt did the same 6 months later. 10 years later my great uncle did the same. This was all on my Mom’s side. I think being open is important. These decisions affect families long term. A year ago I told Mom she never dealt with things and she should talk to someone. She still hasn’t. It’s created a lot of unforeseen family problems. It seems like a big part of my family prefers avoidance and is distant and not connected. I think it’s a direct byproduct of suicide. I wish it hadn’t happened because it really frayed family relations. I wonder how different things would have been, if not for what happened. My thoughts and prayers are with the Stirling family.

Yes, it's appropriate to discuss the cause of death. A lot of people are assuming it was suicide, but from the article's content, it could have been an overdose. Those are related, but very different in intent, and we should be talking about these things.

If you've been into triathlon for a few years, you know that different athletes are driven by very different things. Some are just having fun, even if they're dominating the course. Some are working off intense stress from work or family, and some are driven by trauma that they don't know how to confront. Many are replacing substance addiction with an exercise addiction -- certainly an improvement, but not a solution.

Then again, it could have been a heart attack while training, or drowning, or hit by a car. Regardless, let's deal with it.

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<The Dew Abides>

its tragic that chris stirling is no longer with us

i know not one post means any harm by any of the comments and it seems the thing to discuss all the issues mentioned above ,we do not know the facts just yet

So until we do maybe take a look at chris stirlings results and profile as the athlete , person & human being

he was an outstanding age group athlete and always strived to take on non standard typ of events going for the tougher types and lived and loved in a part of the country that is no easy place to race and train.he helped and had has a large friend base in the community he lived and in UK overall



https://www.tri247.com/triathlon-news/age-group/chris-stirling-death[/url]

If you aren't willing to state something about the cause of death because you don't officially "know", then it is disingenuous to also post the following:


When I interviewed him last year he mentioned struggling with alcohol, depression and drugs during his teen years, and he said that reconnecting with the outdoors back then helped steer him in a different direction. He also said that it has not been all smooth sailing since, but the trend was going up. I never thought much about what that meant, or maybe I simply wanted to see that all was well now. But maybe we all need to listen more closely to what people tell us, and offer help more frequently.

Because you KNOW people are going to read between the lines of what you said.

Absolutely agree...

As a friend of Chris's, please lets just pull together and remember this outstanding athlete and wonderful human being for everything he achieved in his life.

To the rest:

We're all devastated, you don't know who's reading these posts, just have some thoughts for the family and friends who are still coming to terms with this terrible news... Thank you.