Published on November 1, 2024 at 4:15 p.m. / Modified on November 1, 2024 at 4:37 p.m.
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Rarely cited among sports considered dangerous, triathlon nevertheless records a high number of deaths in competition. An increasing observation.
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Most deaths occur during the swimming event, during which competitors are particularly under stress and for which they are poorly prepared.
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Progress will probably come more from science than from organizers, who rarely ask for extensive medical certification.
We talk more about the dangers of MMA, boxing, or even rugby, but triathlon can also prove dangerous for its practitioners, especially amateurs. To date, 16 triathletes have died during an event in 2024. And another died right after a race.
The month of October was a harsh reminder of this, with four deaths, including two during the World Triathlon held in Torremolinos, Spain. Two participants in the veteran category died of cardiac arrest: Mark Stokes, a 57-year-old Briton, during the running event; Roger Mas Colomer, Mexican aged 79, from the swimming event. Earlier this month, Elena Smirnova died in the Ironman 70.3 swim event in Barcelona. An event of the same format organized at the end of October, in Porec in Croatia, also saw the death of a participant during the swimming race.
Swiss
