The National Championship Sprint Triathlon on the island of Mauritius, ended tragically this weekend when a 55-year-old triathlete was found dead on the beach about 100 meters away from the race venue. The triathlete probably died during the swim leg.
Once the majority of the athletes had finished the race and the medal ceremony was underway, organizers realized that the athlete possibly never exited the water, as his bike and other equipment were found untouched in the transition area. They immediately started to search for the athlete, even using a coast guard helicopter to help try to find him. A few hours later his dead body was found on the beach.
This first triathlon event of 2021 attracted about 60 athletes. The local triathlete traveled to the race on his own, but it is still striking that his absence wasn’t noticed until a few hours after the incident. There have been comments social media that there wasn’t enough safety staff out in the water, and there has been some outrage over the fact that the bike left in T1 didn’t set off any alarm bells earlier.
