Youghal Ironman: Triathlon Ireland officials opted not to sanction event in which two men died

Officials from Triathlon Ireland, the national governing body for triathlon racing, attended the site of the Ironman Group race in Youghal, Co Cork, on Sunday and decided not to sanction the race because of adverse conditions, the organisation has said.

In a short statement about the race, in which Ivan Chittenden (64) and Brendan Wall (45) died during the sea swim element of the course, Triathlon Ireland said its role includes providing sanction for club and commercial races to proceed.

“For the Ironman Cork event, in line with normal practice, Triathlon Ireland technical officials attended before the start of the race to review the conditions and carry out a water safety assessment. Due to adverse conditions on the day, Triathlon Ireland technical officials confirmed to the race organisers that it was not possible to sanction the race.”

The statement was issued on Tuesday evening, a few hours after the Ironman Group said its utmost priority at all events is the safety of those taking part.

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“On the morning of Sunday, August 20th, Ironman Ireland officials and the specific on-swim safety team carried out all standard safety protocol checks that are completed at every race and determined water conditions were safe for the swim to take place,” the Ironman Group said.

The Cork event was to have featured a half-Ironman on Saturday and a full-Ironman on Sunday, but the Saturday event was cancelled because of stormy conditions. It then took place on Sunday along with the full-Ironman race. The two men who died are understood to have been participants in the half-Ironman.

[ The Ironman deaths: questions and answers ]

The Ironman Group said that, due to the prevailing weather conditions, a decision was made to shorten the distance of the swim element of the full-Ironman to ensure that water safety supports – such as kayaks, lifeguards and medical boats – could be concentrated over a smaller area while also allowing swimmers the ability to swim with the help of a more favourable current and incoming tide after the first 100m.

A number of participants in the Youghal event highlighted the “utter chaos” they experienced in the water during the swimming stage of the event.

Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has said it is vitally important that a full investigation be completed into the deaths of two the competitors at the event.

Postmortem examinations were carried out on Monday at Cork University Hospital on the bodies of Mr Chittenden, who lived in Toronto, Canada, and Mr Wall, of Cardrath, Slane, Co Meath, who resided in Solihull in the UK.

The two men died in separate incidents. Files will be prepared for the Coroner’s Court and inquests are expected to be heard at a later date.

Mr Wall worked as a sales director at a steel tubes company in the UK having previously been employed by cutting tools manufacturer, the ATA Group, in Cavan.

He is survived by his fiancee Tina, parents Oliver and Gertrude, brothers Martin and Joe, sister Maria, extended family and a large circle of friends.

Mr Chittenden was a keen triathlete and marathon runner who had competed at events in various countries. He retired two years ago having been a senior partner at multinational firm and was married with children.

Mr McGrath stressed that questions need to be “comprehensively answered” on events leading up to their deaths. “I am very conscious that two people have just died yesterday. First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with the families who must be in a terrible state of shock and mourning at this time.

“But of course when two people lose their lives in circumstances such as this, it is important that the full facts of what happened are established and that any questions that are being asked are comprehensively answered.”

The half-Ironman course involved a 1.9km sea swim followed by a 90km bike race and a 21.1km run. The full Ironman originally involved a 3.8km swim, a 180.2km bike race, and a 42.2km run. However, the swim element was reduced to 1.9km because of the sea conditions. The participants in the full Ironman entered the sea after those doing the half-race.