Triathletes swim off the shores of Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa during this year’s IronMan 70.3 Philippines competition last Sunday.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
IronMan Philippines organizers reminder to participants before joining next races
After losing a participant due to a heart attack last Sunday, organizers of the IronMan 70.3 Philippines said they will try their best to make sure the tragedy won’t happen again in future races.
Eric Nadal Mediavillo from San Pedro, Laguna suffered a heart attack while competing in the swim segment of the triathlon off the shores of Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa.
Race marshals were able to pull him out of the water and brought him immediately to the hospital, where he was declared dead at 9:47 a.m. He was 46.
This is the third time since the IronMan started in the Philippines in 2009 that a participant died while competing. The first was during the maiden year in Camarines Sur when Juan Miguel Vazquez had a stroke also while swimming.
In 2012, the first year the competition was held in Cebu, Cebuano participant Ramon Igaña Jr. succumbed to acute pulmonary embolism while traversing the 90k bike route at the Cebu South Coastal Road.
Although these events were accidents, Princess Galura, the general manager of Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI), which is the organizing team behind the prestigious triathlon event, said they will be stricter in reminding participants to be physically prepared for the grueling 1.9-kilometer swim, 90k bike and 21k run race.
“Some triathletes do not know if they are not healthy. Exercising for them is enough without even seeking a physician’s help about their condition.
That’s why we will always remind them to have a regular check-ups with their doctors prior to the race. Not just regular check-up but thorough check-up to prevent this kind of incident from happening again,” Galura said.
Each participant is actually required to have regular thorough check-ups with their physicians prior to registration. This time, organizers will remind participants to continue with those check-ups since registration is held months before the race.
Race registration is usually done nine months before race day so triathletes can have more than enough time to determine weather they are fit enough for the race.
Galura also clarified that there was no neglect in the side of organizers that led to Mediavillo’s death.
“If there was a problem with [how the race was handled] then maybe a lot did not finish. But more than 2,000 of the 2,762 participants crossed the finish line safely,” Galura said.
Galura revealed SEI has already extended financial assistance to the family of the fallen triathlete.
Galura said SEI took care of the hospital bills at the Mactan Doctors’ Hospital where Mediavillo was rushed to. They also booked the family’s plane tickets back to Manila.
Mediavillo’s remains are already in his hometown in San Pedro, Laguna.