A COMPETITOR in an ironman event in which two men died told an inquest how he saw a swimmer floating face down in the sea and attempted to give him CPR.
The body was that of 64-year-old Ivan Chittenden from Toronto in Canada, who arrived in Ireland to participate in the International Ironman event in Youghal, Co Cork on Sunday August 20, 2023.
He was pronounced dead when he was brought ashore by one of the safety boats.
Shortly after the body of 44-year-old Brendan Wall, who was living and working in Solihull in the UK but is formerly from Cardrath, Slane, Co Meath, was found lying face down by another swimmer near the finishing line.
He was taken ashore by some of the other competitors.
He given CPR by a paramedic who worked on him for some time before pronouncing him dead.
Competitor Colin Ryan said he left his hotel on August 19 on a wet and windy morning at around 5am.
The weather was so bad he did not expect the event, a half triathlon, to go ahead.
He received a mail at 5.38am stating the event that morning was cancelled and would be rescheduled.
The following day he was mailed to say conditions had improved and when he arrived in Youghal he knew the swim was going to be very difficult as the tide was coming in with high waves and the water was being pushed against the rocks.
The race proved to be a huge challenge and people were stumbling and falling when they entered the sea, which was very rough.
There was a mass of people trying to go around the orange buoy.
He said: “Swimming was hard work in tough conditions.”
Mr Ryan described the chaotic conditions in the water with people yelling, and he got hit in the face by a girl.
He was treading water on hIs way back to the beach when out of the corner of his eye he saw something shiny and black.
Then it broke onto the surface and he realised it was a swimmer who was face down.
He said: “I turned him over and held his head up. He was buoyant because of his wet suit.
“I saw a boat and a kayak near and I tried to whistle but couldn’t. I shouted but there was no visible reaction.
“I tried to give him CPR in the water and bubbles and water came out of his mouth.”
After a while the kayaker spotted them and came to their assistance and the swimmer was transferred to the boat and brought to shore.
Then someone shouted to get everyone out of the water.
Mr Ryan said later he heard that two swimmers had died and he “got very upset”.
Mr Wall’s body was spotted floating by another swimmer near the Youghal lighthouse and he was unresponsive.
He was brought ashore by one of the safety boats accompanying the race and was given CPR by a paramedic, but unfortunately he was pronounced dead around 8am.
The triathlon event took place in the aftermath of Storm Betty.
Some 1,396 swimmers participated, with 52 people unable to finish the race, including the two men who sadly lost their lives.
The course was shortened because of the weather conditions but this led to confusion among the swimmers, many of whom did not know which route to take.
Conor Hillick said he was an experienced lifeguard and when he looked at the sea that morning he thought that the conditions warranted a red flag warning and no swimming.
He told coroner Frank O’Connell there was chaos among the swimmers, many of whom were struggling and participants were swimming into each other and going in the wrong direction.
Yachtmaster John Innes said the half triathlon had been cancelled the previous day because of the impact of Storm Betty, but when the wind dropped overnight a decision was made to run both races.
He said the sea was flat beyond the rolling waves about 50m out and was calm for the remainder of the course.
The course was shortened and they were operating within a window as the weather was to worsen after 9.30am.
Tina McKay said her fiance Brendan Wall was “risk adverse” and he would not have taken part in the triathlon if he had known it was not sanctioned by Triathlon Ireland.
The inquest heard the event took place even though the permit was withheld by Triathlon Ireland because they believed the course was unsafe.
There were no representatives from Triathlon Ireland or from Ironman present at the inquest.
However, Coroner Frank O’Connell stressed he would not be adjudicating on the disagreement which broke out between the organisers Ironman and Triathlon Ireland.
Detective Garda Ger O’Shaughnessy said a file was sent to the DPP who determined that no criminal prosecution would proceed.
The inquest previously opened in July of 2024 for the purpose of registering the deaths.
At that time Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said that both men died of acute respiratory failure due to drowning.
She said Mr Chittenden had also sustained a “mild blunt force trauma” to the left temporal area of his head which had caused significant bruising.
Mr Chittenden, who was a partner at Ernst and Young having worked for them in Canada for 42 years, had retired two years previously.
He was spending his retirement enjoying life, running marathons and doing triathlons and ironman events around the world.
He completed three Boston Marathons, including the event held the previous April which he described as part of his 65th birthday tour.
He was part of a team raising funds for the American Red Cross.
He had also completed Ironman events which normally involve a 180km cycle, a 3.9km swim and a 42.2km run in Zell Am See, Austria, and in Maine, USA.
He was also a finisher in the Triathlon Mecca Challenge in Roth, Germany.
He did his first Ironman event in 2013.
Mr Wall was a sales director for Top Tubs Ltd and was highly respected by his work colleagues there.
He previously worked for an industrial machinery manufacturing firm in Cavan.
He was a graduate of University College Dublin and he completed an MBA in University of Hull.
The coroner brought in a verdict of accidental death in respect of Mr Chittenden and adjourned the verdict in respect of Brendan Wall for a week to allow for the attendance of a witness.
