Local Triathlete Dies at Jekyll Island

It is so tragic.  Although I think the heart attack has yet to be confirmed, if someone has heart disease or is at high risk for heart attacks, an open water swim is the "perfect storm" of circumstances for such an event to take place for all the reasons you mentioned above.

My prayers are with his family and friends.

Andi

I was told that it was a cardiac event but that doesn't necessarily mean heart disease.  I think that each of the deaths that have occurred in recent history in southeast triathlons have been cardiac events during the swim.

Definitely thinking of him and his family.....

Hi all,

We were with Chris and his wife that tragic race day and are still trying to piece together the events as no one in our group was on the beach. If you feel comfortable sharing your experiences or know someone who might have been there in his swim group, I would love to hear about what you saw/experienced because any nugget will help us piece the day together.  We had originally been told he was floating in the water face down for upwards of 15 min before being pulled in the bota, and now with the help of eye witness accounts we are starting to learn different.  The original suspicion was heart attack but autopsy has ruled that out (as we expected) and it appears he did drown.  So if there is anything you can share be it from the water or on the shorelines I'm sure it will help us wrap our heads around what happened.  Or even experiences you had during the course of the race that highlight potential improvements in racer safety. 

He was a great athlete, this wasn't his first "rodeo" so we're all a bit thrown with what's happened.   He loved the competition of it, he loved the challenge...and most of all he loved the people.  We've learned from some accounts that he may have drowned because he said get the others in trouble first and then come back for him.  While many had a great race, it does appear there were lots of opportunities to improve.  They may not have changed the outcome of the day for our dear friend, but they still are valued lessons from which to learn and improve.  Our goal is to highlight some of the missed safety opportunities.  We've been in contact with race organizers, they have been very receptive to our constructive feedback and therefore we want to make sure that our feedback is objectively represented and Chris' final moments are accurately portrayed.

Thanks for any information you may be able to share,

Erin Buchanan

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