ITU Triathlon World Championships - TriathlonSprint

Supposed to be 750m, but actual distance probably 1200m. No way could the winner in my AG post a 2:20/100m split

Sorry but I will not be filing a detailed race report.

On the recommendation of the people at Running Room the night before, I bought a long sleeve tech shirt that can be worn under the wetsuit and race suit to provide extra warmth. I also wore an extra swim cap. Race day was VERY COLD, 9C and water temp 11C, and RAINY. The swim course was inaccurately measured, probably 1.6x the race distance. (Looks like the sprint swim is longer than the oly swim the next day as the sprint swim splits are > oly swim splits across the board) That means they've incorrectly measured the course for the 2nd consecutive day. I don't know how I got through the swim, but by the time I'm out of the water and wetsuit after 36min, I was freezing and trembling. I thought the worst part was over. I started the 3-loop bike course slowly, just wanted to stay safe and finish. I got colder and colder, the body just couldn't warm up battling the rain and wind. Being skinny with very little body fat certainly did not help. I finished the first loop, mostly coasting w/o too much pedalling. The cold never went away. Somewhere during the downhill on the 2nd loop, something happened. I don't remember what, but when I came to, some guy said "I'm the paramedic and you're in an ambulance. Do you know what your name is?" I told him my name and told him I'm VERY COLD, I was shaking under the blanket. To make a long story short, it's hypothermia, I probably passed out and crashed, not sure in what order. I measured 34C when the paramedic picked me up. I'M OK now, don't worry, but I'm still suffering from post concussion symptoms, headaches, nausea... and my right side is all banged up, road rash, bruises, etc... I'm back in the hotel, resting and realizing this is NOT a nightmare. The mind was willing and tried to tough it out, but the body was not able and decided to shut down, even though I was IN THE BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE on race day. Needless to say, I'm disappointed and I just want to forget this whole experience, which probably explains the amnesia I have of the accident.

In my opinion, the race organization is negligent in not correctly measuring the swim course. They cut the oly swim to 1100m, as any longer was deemed unsafe. They decided not to cut short the sprint swim, but in the end, I think the sprint triathletes all swam more than 1100m! For those that made it to the finish line, report is that the medical tent there was like a "war zone", and many athletes suffered hypothermia. This race organization certainly did not put the athletes safety first and provided a VERY UNPLEASANT experience to many triathletes that had come long distances from all over the world.

Album here - http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/photo-thumbnail...