Two athletes die during age-group sprint races at World Triathlon Championships in Spain
57- and 79-year-old men pass during sprint event at world championships in Spain.
World Triathlon has reported “two participants (one from Mexico; one from Great Britain) have died at the World Triathlon Torremolinos-Andalucía AG Sprint Distance World Championships, taking place today, October 17.”
“Our deepest condolences go to their respective family, friends, National Federations and all the triathlon family,” the statement continued.
Local media outlet Malaga Hoy reported that the British athlete was 57-year-old Mark John and the Mexican athlete was 79-year-old Roger Mas. The Mexican Triathlon Federation also confirmed in a post on X that Mas had passed during the race.
According to the reports the incidents happened within minutes of each other – John collapsed during the early stages of the run, while Mas had a heart attack during the swim.
World Triathlon was able to confirm the nationalities of the athletes and when the deaths occurred, but could not provide any more information for privacy reasons.
British Triathlon have also confirmed that an athlete competing for the federation passed away, but have not provided any more details. You can read that statement here.
Less than two weeks ago an athlete passed away at another Spanish event – Ironman Calella-Barcelona (see link below).
The event in Torremolinas has attracted 5,500 athletes from 79 different countries competing in a variety of races including elite, U23, junior, Para and age group triathlons. The age group racing includes today’s sprint-distance, along with a standard- (Olympic-) distance race on Saturday. (There are also age-group mixed relays on Sunday.)
Categories: News Tags: triathlon death, World Triathlon Championships Final
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