As many know, one (by rumor two) athlete(s) had a heart attack during the swim yesterday. One, possibly two, rider(s) wiped out badly descending the back side of Old Stage w/one hitting a car. Very scary and unfortunate. The 5430 site does not mention these situations and a previous thread here on ST only makes brief mention. Does anyone have more info. on these events? Is everyone involved OK? How did the bike and car collide? Etc.
Thanks. Just a little concerned.
I spoke to a volunteer after the awards who told me about the situations. According to him, there was 1 heart attack during the swim where the individual died. There was an incident descending Olde Stage in which a cyclist took a turn wide which caused him to run another cyclist off the road where that cyclist hit a parked car. This cyclist was taken by Flight For Life but the volunteer was unsure of the status of that individual at that time. Very sad on all accounts.
Thanks. Very sad.
A friend told me that the Camera ran a race story that mentions the crash but not the fatality. Apparently, the rider is still in the hospital, but will be “fine”. Not sure about the extent of the injuries, however.
According to 850 KOA this morning, the guy who had the heart attack is in the hospital in critical condition. Same for the bike crash. That was about 7:30 this morning. No word since then.
Bump. Anyone have an update? CAn anyone sort fact from rumor?Amazingly, the 5430 site still has not posted anything.
Go to www.dailycamera.com . The heart attack was a 76 year old man who tragically passed away later in the hospital, the cyclist was taken to the hospital where he is in critical condition. Very sad.
From the 5430sports.com site:
Race Director Barry Siff and the staff at 5430 Sports have been devastated by the accidents that occurred at the Boulder Peak Triathlon on Sunday. All our best wishes and heartfelt support go out to the athletes and their families.
As the media has documented, Howard Garcia, 76, had to be rescued from the swim and died early Monday morning. We have not heard back from the Boulder County Coroner on how or why Mr. Garcia died and we cannot speculate. However, we want to make it clear that the swim start was not a “mass start.” It was a “wave start.” Moreover, Mr. Garcia’s wave, which included men over 55, women over 50 and athletes under 19 started a full 10 minutes before the rest of the field.
Gary Henry, 39, was involved in an accident during the cycling portion of the race. He is in critical but stable condition at a Denver hospital.
Mr. Garcia and Mr. Henry’s families have asked for privacy. We hope this will be respected. If you wish to pass on your good wishes, you can e-mail or mail them to us and we will pass them along.
There was a third cyclist seriously injured during the race. We will not be giving out any more details on his condition until we have spoken to him and his family and have their permission.
In all three cases, 5430 Sports and the emergency personnel on site for the race did everything in their power to care for the athletes as quickly and competently as possible. We are working closely with USA Triathlon and other authorities to make sure that this care and concern continues for both the athletes and their families.
Thanks to everyone who has contacted us with your support for us and for the sport. You do not know how much it means to us during this very difficult time