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Subscribe to RSSA 46-year-old Austin, Texas, man died while swimming in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Sunday morning.
Race organizers believe the man suffered a heart attack shortly after he entered the San Francisco Bay for the 1.5-mile swimming portion of the triathlon around 7:30 a.m., according a statement by Race Director Bill Burke.
Burke said that the race's water safety team saw the man in the water and began CPR as they brought him to the shore. But rescuers were unable to revive him.
Burke said the man is the first person to die in the race's history.
The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon includes a 1.5-mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the shores of the St. Francis Yacht Club, an 18-mile bike ride, and an 8-mile run through San Francisco's Golden Gate Recreational Area.
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To sad, sounds like another person trying to be in shape that had (unknown) issues that caused his death. I would be happy to even do 1 part of that event.
Lay off the stereotypes and stop dancing on a dead man's grave.
Not everyone that suffers from a serious issue (stroke, heart attack, etc.) is some out-of-shape, obese American going through a midlife crisis. There is such a thing as genetics, you know. Ever heard of Sergei Grinkov? Top figure skater, professional athlete... dead of a heart attack at the age of 27, which is what also killed his father. Look at Jim Fixx, whose father also died of a heart attack. Some families have a propensity for certain diseases and illnesses. Simple as that.
"The first symptom of heart disease is often sudden death." --NYT
That was a vicious response. I don't think he/she said that at all. You were angry and reading between the lines too much.
The swim should not be the first event. You simply cannot warm-up for a swim like a run or ride-plus it's 7:00 in the morning and the water is 50 degrees. Put the swim second or eliminate it altogether, it proves nothing.
No kidding standup. I didn't read anything about a fat person having a mid life crisis in thier response. Seems you are someone in that boat and overly defensive about it?
I'd think the abrupt cold water could cause anyone to have a heart attack as it is known to have that effect on some people.
I'd worry more that it's in the red triangle and known for great whites! Noooo thanks, I'll just stick to the pool and read about it. My days of killing myself are over.
A rather fit friend of mine, age 49, died due to a similar "intense" challenge, leaving behind his two teenagers and wife. Perhaps there is too much American emphasis on "extreme" thrills.
More people die annually sitting in their recliner than in all the triathlons in the history of the world. I would give anything to be in the kind of shape you need to be in to compete in one, but I am a medical disaster, for whom just walking down to my car in the garage feels like a triathlon to me.
@StandUp - There was nothing in that post criticizing him for participating in the event. The person was actually lamenting the fact that the athlete was just trying to be healthy but died from an unforseen condition. Take your happy pills before you write nonsense.
Jonal, "I would be happy to even do 1 part of that event."
I hope you didn't meant the last part of the event. Like; to drop dead.
@Rick: I do triathlons and I'll tell you, I wouldn't want that swim anywhere else. Try being tired from a long bike or a long run and then go swim. THAT would be a much larger safety issue. People have heart-attacks all the time, the swim itself didn't cause that to come out of nowhere.
What a horribly tragedy. Not trying to be funny, but I almost die of a heart attack thinking of jumping into that cold water at 0730 on a March morning. It may be "California," which sounds like sunshine and surfing, but that is some really cold, inhospitable water. I know people want to challenge themselves, but it's too sad :(
I think it was Mark Twain that said the coldest winter I ever had was a summer in San Francisco. I lived there and though it hardley ever freezes nor does it get above the mid eighties, the nights are cold. There is no land mass to hold heat. 60's are average most year around.
It's not a tragedy, this would be one if a Great White Shark bit him in half during the swim. Clint Eastwood said it best, A man has to know his limitations.......
But we cannot always know our limitations until we test them.
And Clint was just a movie star and I wouldn't live my life based on the philosophy of fictional people.
And the 46 year old man leaves behind a widow and kids without a father. Testing some things can go to the extreme and unfortunatly others suffer the consequence.
Callous remark, you have no idea what happened. Look up Ryan Shay. He was an elite marathoner who collapsed and died in Central Park in 2007 during the U.S. Men's Olympic Trials. He was a veteran marathoner but died only 5 miles in. Both of these stories are tragedies.
A callous remark would be what George Carlin used in a skit series. "There was this marathon man who ran and ran the fastest laps around central park and disappears. Two men found him on a morning walk and realized he had a heart attack, the two men puffed away at their Marlboro Red cigs and said, I'll never risk my life like that". George finished with, it will always be the smokers who find the dead runners.............
Yes, because I'm sure it's true that more people die from running than smoking-related illnesses each year. I don't understand what that quote is trying to prove.
Note: don't go to a comedy club with the swordsman here
Bless your heart swordsman.......
I've noticed an increase in sudden cardiac arrests among athletes recently. Footballers, baskeball, running, etc. I believe we will be seeing more and more of this and the reason, and it is certainly not proven, is due to our horrific dietary habits and poor quality foods. We eat GM foods daily, trans fats daily, sugar, chemicals, and a host of fat laden non nutritive sweets. Surely these so called foods cannot build healthy bodies. Did you know that if you simply feed a cow pasteurized milk it dies? What does that tell you and we process, pasteurize, and sterilize everything. We'd better change our ways to a more natural lifestyle including organic non processed foods otherwise our health will continue to decline mentally as well as physically.
what a nut case
Tells me that adult mammals cannot live on milk alone.
Actually, we are the only mammal that drinks milk beyond infancy. Milk today is laden with hormones and antibiotics, also they give the cows big doses of magnesium in their feed to increase their milk output. What George says is true, it's mass producing of assembly line food, and you know that can't be good for our bodies.
Yeah, go ahead and drink raw milk George.
Provide proof of what you are saying twodogs to show you are not lying.
Cows eat grass, if you ate nothing but grass I 'll bet you die too.
http://www.alternet.org/story/141469/do_grown-ups_really_need_to_drink_milk
"Mammals are named after the milk-producing glands that developed as a way to feed babies, but only humans continue drinking mammary secretions after infancy -- and no other species drinks the milk of another. "
My cats love cow's milk - So much for the theory!
If you only feed a cow pasteurized milk it dies?
Yes, it is called malnutrition and starvation. Heart attacks among young athletes isn't a recent phenomenon, and usually due to a heart defect from birth undiscovered.
Yes, we are a fat nation, number one in fact, but it's more about the amount we eat, then what we eat. That being said we could eat much better types of food like more veggies and fish verse bread and meat.
Nothing special here, just the same old nutritional info that only 10% will follow.
I have been drinking milk for 54 years and have never broke a bone nor suffer any serious disease, ever.
Only humans kill each other in war too, or drive cars, or watch TV. So what?
I wish we would stop wasting money on useless studies and spend it on something more productive.
My cats watch TV. :)
Did you know that if you simply feed a cat chocolate it can die? So by George's logic, chocolate should be outlawed as toxic.
I guess he did not escape from Alcatraz
nope. Didn't quite make that swim.
I'm 60 and in pretty good shape, but I'm smart enough to know I'm no longer 25. Too bad for the man in question. Hope he left his family provided for.
He died doing what he wanted to do, what better way to go than that.
I feel for his family no matter what he wanted, I'm sure they'd rather have him. I always get nervous when my husband decides he wants to try for the iron man competition that we have locally. As much as I want him to be super healthy, I'm sure he can accomplish good health without the competition.
My condolences to the family.
Good point. Who the hell are we to judge? I took up riding horses a couple of years ago at 58. You ride and you will get hurt. I do it anyway.
People die, this guy just happened to be doing a triathlon, big deal. He died, end of story.
This is a sad story when you think about how this guy came all the way from Texas just to die in the San Francisco Bay. At 7:30 in the morning, the Bay is not a place you want to go swimming. I recall over 30 years ago when I was going to school at Cal Berkeley being invited to run in a 10 K race on Angel Island and when I came around the west side of the island and was hit by the cold air, how I was almost unable to breath through the right side of my nose because the cold air caused it to freeze up and this was out of the water. Well, R.I.P. and I hope they give him a nice send off because it will be the last one. I also hope that this will help discourage people of questionable physical condition to try and go swimming in the bay during this time of the year; a very bad idea.
Andres with #s
Then that means...." He left his heart in San Francisco...."
the swim should not the the first event, you simply cannot "warm-up" for a swim. sue 'em.
Sue them? God it's people like you that really screw it up for the rest of us. Obviously you were never taught personal responsibility.
Must be from CA, I hear they sue for being idiots and expecting to be told simple things like you can drown in the ocean unless a sign warns you otherwise. Or that a ladder is slippery when wet, but people like you need a sticker to tell us that. I could go on with what I have read.
Maybe they should warm up prior to getting in the water, like most people do before any event.
But instead of expecting someone like you to use common sense, let's blame everyone else and sue then shut the event down for everybody else, but as long as you get your payday right? Im sure a slimy lawyer would be by your side looking for 40% too.
Bet you sued McDonalds cause you can't teach your kids how to eat because that would be too hard and being a wuss your kids run your life and it is such a hassle.
All "sue em" comments aside, you certainly don't want the swim later on. You cramp and fatigue on the bike, you stop and sit down. You cramp and fatigue on the run, you stop and sit down. You cramp and fatigue in the water... you'd better hope to god there's a kayaker nearby. The swim HAS to be first.
We must ban triathons! We cannot allow them to kill any more people!
OK, how many people who are commenting have actually participated in a triathlon?
Lake Michigan can be just as cold as San Francisco Bay, and guess what we still do triathlons because triathletes wear wet suits (tri-suits).
The swim portion is put first because you do not want an athlete who is tired from biking and running out in the water when he/she becomes exhausted and needs to slow down for a bit.
I'm 48, been doing triathlons for 6 years, and am better shape than 90% of the 48 year olds out there. So is there a chance I will have a heart attack during my next tri? Sure there is, I could also have a heart attack just waking up in the morning and taking a shower.
If I had a choice how I would end, it would be doing a triathlon vs. waking up in the morning.
If I were an Olympic swimmer, I don't think I'd attempt that swim. Anyone who has been in the Bay and seen those currents and wind may have second thoughts. For those who completed it I tip my cap. But a sad story nonetheless.
to sad
That's a very tough swim. It was thought no one could make it to shore because of the conditions and reason for them to believe the prison was "escape proof".
I've done many triathlons including two Ironman distance events. People do them because they are hard. It wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy or risk free. The ironic thing is now that someone has died, the event will become even more notorious and entries will increase.
My tri club put on one of the first mountain bike off road trail triathlons. First year it was grueling wet muddy conditions. We had many people injured from slips and falls, broken arms, dislocated shoulders. We thought it was a disaster, but through word of mouth of the harshness, it became very popular. Now even more extreme events are being put on. I guess some people enjoy taking risks. The safe and lazy life isn't a life for them.
I'm sorry for the guy and his family. But really triathlons are nothing more than pushing the human body to its limits. It's completely worthless as are marathons when one is trying to get into or maintain top physical condition or increase longevity of life.
Yeah, let's sit on our couches! You wouldn't want to push your body...
Grew up in San Francisco, and that water is numbing cold, 24/7...every day of the year. As was already mentioned, it always stays near 50-55 degrees F, due to the off-shore Japanese Current.
I once went into the surf at the shore, when the water temp was 54, and I began to lose all feeling in my feet and legs after about 5 minutes and got the hell out before they became paralyzed. Of course, it took about five margaritas before I could summon up the will to go in the water in the first place. I was wondering why my buddy and I were the only ones in the water.
ya common sense would tell you the water is probably cold , plus the water is pretty rough, i have swam a mile at the same age across a nice lake in the summer in North Mich. can't even imagine trying it in san fran it's not even officialy spring yet. i have been to san fran i know their is swimming club their but this does not sound like a good idea this time of the year at 50 degree water temp just beacuse it have been done before does not mean it's a good idea for everyone
Didn't Jack LaLanne make that swim several times??
Here is a list of Jack's accomplishments. He was amazing.
At least he died doing something he enjoyed, except for the whole heart attack/drowning thing. I doubt he enjoyed that very much...
If you live your life like you're scared of losing it, then you really aren't living.
Sounds like this guy was living his life. Huzzah for a 'good death--Valhalla awaits.
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