A man dies at the Alcatraz triathlon over the weekend. On March 4, ABC News reported that the 46-year-old Texas man apparently had a heart attack while swimming in the "frigid" waters of the San Francisco Bay. The "Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon" had just begun when the man jumped in the water. He did not make it far in to the 1.5 mile swim, when his body reacted in a negative way and he had to be pulled to shore. A safety team began doing CPR on him but they were unable to revive him.
"We have reason to believe the gentleman suffered from a massive cardiac event as he entered the water and began the swim," race officials said in a statement (via ABC News).
When a man dies at the Alcatraz triathlon, there are a lot of questions to be asked. This year, the race was three months earlier than it usually is so the water is really quite cold. Still, officials do not believe that the cold water was the reason this man didn't make it. His death was the first ever in this annual race that marked its 33rd year on Sunday.
"Was it colder than normal? Yes. But in my opinion, the water temperature was not a factor at all in this tragedy. The gentleman obviously had a heart condition he was unaware of," said Bill Burke, the race's director.
The man who died at the Alcatraz triathlon has not been identified to the public. The report does say that the man was from Austin, but other details about him were not released.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
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