This footage has emerged of conditions in the sea as Ironman Cork got underway in Ireland on Sunday morning. Two competitors - men in their 40s and 60s - died during the swim leg of the event, which continued.
While investigations - including by the Garda, who compile files for coroners' inquests - were underway into how the men died, early reports suggest medical emergencies may have been the cause. However, the results of postmortems on the remains of the deceased were still awaited.
The deaths of the men occurred despite the swim leg having been shortened – from 3.8km to 1.7km – due to conditions in the water in Youghal, east Cork, at the start. This shortening of the swim meant the safety resources available could be more concentrated over the shorter distance.
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Before the event, a range of services had combined to ensure the course was clear for the competitors after the impact of Storm Betty, which forced the cancellation of cycling races on Saturday. That storm also forced the cancellation of the half Ironman on Saturday, which was effectively amalgamated with the full event on Sunday.
While these videos show the competitors dealing with some lively sea conditions at the start of the event, it was unclear if the conditions were a significant contributing factor - indeed played any role - in the deaths of the two men who sadly lost their lives.
One of the deceased is believed to be an Irishman who had been living in the UK for some time while the other man was from Canada and had traveled to Ireland for today’s Ironman.
