An inquest into the deaths of two men who died within minutes of each other in separate incidents during an Ironman triathlon in East Cork has heard how one of the casualties hit his head on “something very solid”.
As The Journal reports, 64-year-old Ivan Chittenden from Canada was found to have suffered “extensive” bruising to his temple from blunt force trauma at some point between his entering the water and his death on the morning of 20 August 2023.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, who carried out postmortems on both Chittenden and 45-year-old Brendan Wall from Co Meath, told the inquest in Youghal on Monday (23 February) that the blow could have caused a concussion that affected his ability to swim.
Both men were determined to have died of acute respiratory failure due to drowning during the swim portion of the Ironman 70.3 event in Youghal.
The inquest of Wall was adjourned to be resumed at a later date when a key witness becomes available to give evidence.
The Journal has much more on the story HERE.
