Two men have died while taking part in an Ironman triathlon competition in Ireland.
The men, one aged in his 40s and the other in his 60s, died in incidents during the swimming leg of the triathlon held in Youghal, Co Cork.
The men were removed from the water by emergency services before being pronounced dead by medical personnel, Gardaí confirmed.
They were pronounced dead by medical personnel.
In a Facebook post, Ironman Ireland said they were “deeply saddened” by the deaths of the two men.
The post stated: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of two race participants at the IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork 2023. During the swim portion of Sunday’s race, safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognising the athletes were in need of assistance.
“We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time.
“We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance.”
Earlier this morning, the page announced the swim course for two of the events would be altered with the intention of “delivering the safest possible swim” for the participants.
The post said: “Due to the current conditions of the water at the swim start, the swim course for both IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork and the full distance IRONMAN Ireland, Cork will now be 1.9km. This means that we can focus all of our swim safety crew on delivering the safest possible swim for all of our athletes.”
More to follow…
