Triathlon Ireland did not sanction Youghal Ironman event 'due to adverse conditions'

Ivan Chittenden from Toronto, Canada and Meath native Brendan Wall, who lived in Solihull in England, died during the swim stage of the event

Flowers left at the spot where the swimmers entered the water during the swim section of the Ironman in Youghal where two athletes lost their lives last Sunday. Picture: Howard Crowdy

Triathlon Ireland did not sanction the Ironman event in Youghal on Sunday, in which two lives were lost.

The body confirmed to the Irish Examiner that "due to adverse conditions on the day", its technical officials told race organisers that it was not possible to sanction the race.

Ivan Chittenden from Toronto, Canada and Meath native Brendan Wall, who lived in Solihull in England and had relatives living in East Cork, died during the swim stage of the event. Post mortems on both men were conducted on Monday.

Brendan Wall from Co Meath died during the Ironman event in Youghal. 

In a statement issued to the Irish Examiner on Monday evening, Darren Coombes, the CEO of Triathlon Ireland, extended his sympathies to the families of the two men.

"Triathlon Ireland is the National Governing Body for triathlon in Ireland, a role which includes providing sanction for club and commercial races to proceed. In our almost 40 year history, the sport in Ireland has an impeccable safety record," he said.

"For the Ironman Cork event, in line with normal practice, Triathlon Ireland Technical Officials attended before the start of the race to review the conditions and carry out a water safety assessment. Due to adverse conditions on the day, Triathlon Ireland Technical Officials confirmed to the race organisers that it was not possible to sanction the race.

"As there is an investigation ongoing, at this stage it would not be appropriate for us to make any further comment only to state that Triathlon Ireland will provide any assistance that the authorities require."

Earlier, a statement issued on behalf of Ironman said its safety teams had inspected the conditions before the event took place.

The events were re-scheduled from Saturday to Sunday to provide a safer race, a spokesperson said.

"On the morning of Sunday 20 August, IRONMAN Ireland officials and the specific on-swim safety team carried out all standard safety protocol checks that are completed at every race and determined water conditions were safe for the swim to take place," they said.

"Due to the prevailing weather conditions, a decision was made, however, to shorten the distance of the swim as a further precaution to ensure that the significant water safety assets – such as kayaks, lifeguards and medical boats – could be concentrated over a smaller area while also allowing swimmers the ability to swim with the help of a more favourable current and incoming tide after the first 100m."

The spokesperson extended their sympathies to the families of the men who died during the event.

Ivan Chittenden, who died during the Ironman event in Youghal.

Earlier, Finance Minister Michael McGrath called for an investigation to determine the full facts of how two men lost their lives during the Ironman in Youghal.

Mr McGrath said the deaths of the two men were a terrible tragedy. 

I know that Ironman Ireland will of course be carrying out its own investigation to establish the full circumstances of what happened. Of course the post-mortems will take place today and that will feed into the coroner’s court hearing eventually into this.

He continued: “I’m very conscious that two people have just died yesterday and first and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the families. They must be in a terrible state of shock and mourning at this time. But of course when two people lose their lives in circumstances such as this, it is important that the full facts of what happened are established and that any questions that are being asked are comprehensibly answered. I have no doubt the organisers of the event will conduct a comprehensive investigation into what happened.” 

He added: “Cork County Council is a lead sponsor of the event and I have no doubt they will want a full account of what happened as well. It may well be the case that Water Safety Ireland will also be asking questions and wish to fully understand the facts and the circumstances of what happened.”

Meanwhile, mayor of the county of Cork, Frank O’Flynn, has said it was “a very hard call” for organisers to continue the Ironman event following the deaths.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr O’Flynn said it had been a very sad occasion and that many of the athletes had not been aware of what had happened when he spoke to them afterwards. They had known there had been an issue in the water, but not that the two competitors had died.

“They were very, very surprised and they definitely got upset.” 

Mr O’Flynn pointed out that there were thousands of participants in the event along with thousands of supporters and spectators. A full investigation would reveal exactly what had happened, he said, and he looked forward to that report.

Saturday's Ironman half triathlon had been postponed until Sunday due to flooding and debris on the cycle course through east Cork as a result of Storm Betty overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning. As a result, both the full and half events took place yesterday.

When asked about the decision by the event’s organisers to go ahead with the swim section of the triathlon, albeit shortened, Mr O’Flynn said the organisers were very professional and experienced and had organised many such events around the world.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

“It is quite an endurance test and it's a very, very big occasion. And I have no doubt the organisers took a decision (to reduce the distance) because of the swell in the morning.” 

Safety was paramount and the event was very well organised, he added. The deaths were a tragedy, he said, and his thoughts and prayers were with the families and friends of the deceased.

Ironman, who have responsibility for staging the event, issued a statement after the deaths, saying: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of two race participants at the IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork 2023. During the swim portion of Sunday’s race, safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognising the athletes were in need of assistance.”  

“We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time. We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance. In respect of the families and athletes’ privacy, we will have no further comment.”

However, Ironman did not respond to questions posed in relation to the safety concerns raised by participants, including who made the final decision to allow the event to go ahead.

In a statement, Cork County Council offered deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the dead men.

The Ironman is due to return to Youghal next year on August 11.