A 64-year-old man died after having a heart attack during the swimming leg of Sunday’s New York City Triathlon, race officials said. A 40-year-old woman also had a heart attack during the 1,500-meter swim, according the New York Fire Department. She was in critical condition at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.
The man, who was competing as part of a three-person relay team, was spotted unconscious in the water about halfway into the swim, according to the race’s director, Bill Burke. A race official confirmed the man was Michael Kudryk, 64, of Freehold, N.J. The swim portion of the competition took place in the Hudson River, starting at a wharf parallel to 96th Street and finishing near the 79th Street boat basin. Race officials got Kudryk onto a fire rescue boat operated by the New York City Police Department, and then into an ambulance at 79th Street, and took him to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.
“Nobody goes into this event expecting this type of tragedy,” Burke said. “It’s one of those unforeseen life events that happens when you get this many people to participate in physical activity.”
The medical examiner’s office was expected to conduct an autopsy on Kudryk on Monday. No additional details on the female triathlete were available.
The death is the second in the 11-year history of the race, which incorporates a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10K run, but it raises questions about the safety of the open-water swimming leg of triathlons. In 2008, the 32-year-old Esteban Neira of Argentina, died while swimming in the Hudson. Neira’s death was linked to a condition
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