Days after two men died during the swim portion of an Ironman race in Ireland, race organizers and the country’s official governing body disagree on whether safety concerns were made clear before or after athletes got into the water.
Ireland’s Brendan Wall, 45, and Toronto’s Ivan Chittenden, 64, died separately during the 1.9-kilometre swim portion of the Ironman event in Cork’s Youghal Harbour, roughly 270 kilometres south of Dublin.
They had been competing in a so-called half Ironman event, which also features a 90-kilometre bike course and a 21.1-kilometre run. Videos of the swim portion posted online show a crowd of swimmers heading into the choppy bay on a