A popular Irish Ironman triathlete died while kite surfing on a Dublin beach last year because of an undetected heart problem, his family has said.
And now Ger Fennelly’s family wants to raise awareness
about his cardiac problems in a bid to prevent others dying the way he did on
Dollymount Strand last October.
The Fennelly family has launched their campaign, to raise
money for heart screening, on what would have been Ger’s 40th birthday.
The money is being raised for the Heart Screening Clinic
in the Mater Hospital in Dublin. That clinic aims to prevent Sudden Adult Death
Syndrome, which is how Ger died due to an undiagnosed heart issue.
While Ger, Beaumont, Dublin, competed in triathlon and
Ironman, both very challenging disciplines with long periods of flat out
effort, his cardiac issues did not become obvious despite repeated periods of
exertion while training and competing.
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It was when he was pursuing his kite surfing hobby last
October that he got into difficulty and died. And now a post mortem has
confirmed he had a congenital heart problem that neither he nor any of his
family knew about.
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His sister, Elaine Fennelly, has said if Ger, a housing
officer for the Cluid housing charity, had undergone an electrocardiogram his
problem would have been detected.
And while triathletes, cyclists and other athletes believe
they are fit and healthy, she has urged them to go and get their hearts
checked.
“Initially people thought that he lost control of the kite and died from the impact of falling from a great height,” Elaine said in an interview with journalist Cathal Austin of the Irish Mirror.
“We now know from the postmortem results that Ger died of
a congenital heart defect that was never picked up on from birth. He suffered a
cardiac arrest and died in mid air.
The father of one had competed in Ironman Barcelona in
2018, had swam Alcatraz and also competed in triathlon in San Francisco as well
as a wide range of events at home in Ireland.
The Fennelly family is asking for donates in memory of Ger, and towards save the lives of others, to donate to the Ger Fennelly Saving Lives fund by following this link.
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