BOULDER, Colorado. — An athlete died a day after he was pulled from the water during the Boulder Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Colorado. It was the third death in four years of Ironman competitions in Boulder.
A witness, physician Donald Cain from Wisconsin, told the Daily Camera in Boulder that a man was pulled from the water on Saturday, and Ironman officials say the athlete died Sunday. The Boulder County coroner identified the man as 50-year-old Scott Michaelis, of Wichita, Kansas.
A 70.3 triathlon, or half Ironman, involves swimming 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers), biking 56 miles (90 kilometers) and running 13.1 miles (21 kilometers).
Thirty-four-year-old Michelle Walters, of McCook, Nebraska, died after being struck by a vehicle during the 2016 race, and 40-year-old Brian Godlove of Fairfax, Virginia, died three days after a 2015 race from dehydration and muscle tissue breakdown.
Tragedy also struck the Cebu edition of the Ironman 70.3 in 2017 when Eric Nadal Mediavillo, 47, of the PMMA Multi Sport team passed due to cardiac arrest during the swim course.
The Ironman race in Cebu also had a casualty back in 2012 when Ramon Igaña Jr., 44, died of acute pulmonary embolism during the bike leg. /with reports from Cebu Daily News