This year’s Ironman African Championship in Port Elizabeth was marred by tragedy on Sunday as two participants died in the swimming event.
The death of George resident Leon Stanvliet, 63, as a result of apparent convulsions and Durban’s André Trichardt, 58, who succumbed to a heart-related problem, overshadowed the occasion, one of the showpiece events on the Eastern Cape sporting calendar.
It appears the two deaths occurred within 10 minutes of one another.
Both swimmers, who paramedics could not resuscitate at the scene, were declared dead upon arrival at hospital.
Ironman SA spokesperson Siya Ndzimande said: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of two race participants at the Ironman African Championship.
“Both athletes required medical attention during the swim portion of Sunday’s race and were transported to a nearby hospital where they were treated. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of both athletes, who we will continue to support.”
Ndzimande said that no further comment would be provided at this time.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said police were awaiting the postmortem results to determine the exact causes of death.
“No foul play is believed to be part of the incidents and two inquest cases are under investigation,” Naidu said.
The office of Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Mongameli Bobani said the deaths were beyond what the event's organisers could prepare for.
“In September last year, the city hosted successful World Ironman Championships with no incident. The event was the result of many years of experience that the city has acquired through [hosting] the African Championships. It is against this background that these incidents come as devastating news to us,” a statement read.
“On behalf of the people of Nelson Mandela Bay I would like to send our deepest condolences to the families. They could not have imagined that a family member coming for a sporting competition, can end up losing a life.”
It is not the first time that people have died in an Ironman event in the province.
In 2013, two Gauteng swimmers died during the swimming section of the Ironman 70.3 in Buffalo City.
Kevin Staessen, 29, and Berton Bosman, 37, died of apparent cardiac respiratory arrest during the first leg of that year's event.In 2017, Reuters reported that triathlon competitors may be more likely to die suddenly and suffer a fatal trauma or cardiac arrest than previously thought.A study of over nine million US participants over three decades found that deaths and cardiac arrests struck 1.74 out of every 100,000 competitors.The risk associated with a single triathlon was higher than the annual risk of death for a middle-aged adult in the general population, and also exceeds previous estimates for long-distance running races, including marathons, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.This year, the event attracted 1,980 entrants, a slight drop from last year’s 2,029. Of the total, 570 were foreign entries and 1,410 South African.The lower turnout this year was not good news for traders.Vendors said they had struggled to make as much money as they had in previous years.Entrepreneur Jane Githinji has been selling summer merchandise including hats, sunglasses and beach bags at the beachfront every day for more than 10 years, and looks forward to events such as the Ironman.She said: “I have managed to sell more than I than I would on an ordinary day, but it’s not the same anymore. Business is slow this year.”Trader Mandla Mene echoed Githinji’s sentiments.“The economy is tough but it seems people like branded caps and different countries’ flags. Although the event seems to become a little smaller, it’s better than sitting at home.”The Ironman Expo was one of the most popular stalls with local and international visitors queuing to purchase IronMan branded merchandise.Argentine spectator Franco Tibaldi arrived in Port Elizabeth last week to support his father who raced on Sunday.“It’s my first time in Africa to support my father who is taking part in the race and I find that Port Elizabeth is similar to my city, Mar del Plata, in Argentina. We will spend a while in South Africa to go on a safari and explore some more.”The race came to a conclusion in the afternoon with the US’s Ben Hoffman taking the IroMan Africa Champion title at 07:34:19 followed by Germany’s Nils Frommhold at 07:40:12 and Austria’s Michael Weiss at 07:42:35.In the female pro athletes edition, Lucy Charles-Barclay finished first at 08:35:31, Spain’s Gurutze Frades behind her at 08:40:47 and South Africa’s Annah Watkinson at 08:43:18 in third place...