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Competitors Suffer Heat Stroke, Exhaustion During Triathlon
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 19, 2010
Modified Jul 19, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 19, 2010
Modified Jul 19, 2010
Share
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The hot, humid weather made the Nautica NYC Triathlon—a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike portion, and then a 10K run—that much tougher yesterday. A dozen racers suffered heat exhaustion, including a British man who collapsed at 5.9 miles into the 6.2 mile final leg. The 31-year-old from London was taken to New York-Presbyterian Cornell Weill in critical condition; race director Bill Burke said, "He's going to be okay. His family is with him. According to his brother, he is doing better."
One triathlete, 50-year-old Grace Tejada Martinez, told the Daily News, "The heat was good until we got to Central Park and then it got brutal. After the third mile, I was dying. I was like, 'Oh, God, give me water now!'" A volunteer doctor told the Post, "These are highly trained athletes. And they train really well... We're mostly dealing with a lot of dehydration and cramping."
Burke said the dozen people hospitalized were fewer than anticipated (there were 17 ambulances on standby). In 2008, a 32-year-old man died during the triathlon.
In other news, Rebeccah Wassner won her second NYC Triathlon in 2:00:25 (her twin Laurel finished second at 2:02:16). Czech Olympian Filip Ospaly won the men's race in 1:46:28, while a dog named Eli and his owner Anthony won the Doggy Dash crown.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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