Tragedy of triathlete’s desperate paddling to stay alive
Former rugby player left struggling for 20 minutes
a ForMEr rugby player was left struggling for 20 minutes before being pulled from the water during a triathlon, an inquest has heard.
Stephen Begley, who played for Scotland under-21s and Glasgow Hawks in the 1990s, died during the swimming leg of the event in Singapore on September 10 last year.
His family had thought the 42-year-old had passed out and drowned.
But according to an inquest hearing in Singapore yesterday, known as a coroner’s inquiry, information recorded on his Garmin sports watch showed Mr Begley had continued to paddle slowly in the 15 to 20 minutes before he was finally plucked from the water by a lifeguard about 200 yards from the shore.
a medical crew carried out cPr before taking him to the Singapore General Hospital, but the qualified lifeguard was pronounced dead a short time later.
a coroner’s report later showed he had suffered heart failure.
it was the second fatality at the event in eight years. competitor calvin Lee, who was also 42, died during the swimming leg of the competition in 2009.
Mr Begley’s partner Vanessa raymundo, who was watching the race, has called for strict safety procedures to be put in place after claiming cctV footage played at the inquest showed the lifeguards on duty at East coast Park did ‘not have the capacity’ to cover every section of the water.
She told BBc Scotland’s John Beattie programme yesterday: ‘Steve was in the water for an awful long time. i knew he would have been in the water or 15 to 20 minutes because i was watching.
‘Was the safety detail deployed actually adequate to cover the number of athletes that were in the water at that time?
‘From the cctV footage, it doesn’t seem the lifeguard had capacity to cover two zones at the time the other lifeguard was going back to assist another participant.
‘as to whether it would have made a difference if Steve had been found sooner, that question is still there.’ Footage of the event shows the English-born Mr Begley – who qualified for Scotland through his grandmother from Gourock, renfrewshire – leaving the water after the first lap of the swimming leg, then returning for the final portion of the 1.5km (0.9 mile) swim.
His Garmin watch showed his paddle rate dropped quickly only minutes later.
Miss raymundo said: ‘the Garmin showed his strokes were slowing, which for me was quite a surprise. Judging from his cause of death, i had this vision of him going down, just passing out, not moving, not struggling – but his Garmin showed he was still swimming for quite some time.’
the family said they did not wish to apportion blame for Mr Begley’s death, but did want to try to prevent similar tragedies.
Miss raymundo said: ‘When it’s a sporting event of this calibre, so many participants, they should really have the most adequate safety procedures in place.
‘they always say the safety of the athletes is most important. Well, they should back that up with adequate safety detail and safety procedures. all we want is to be able to prevent or minimise the probability of this happening to another athlete.’
a subsequent investigation by Sport Singapore found allegations that the organiser, the triathlon association Singapore, did not have adequate safety regulations were false, according to the BBc.
But Mr Begley’s brother Matt yesterday accused the bodies of ‘closing ranks’. He said: ‘i have asked the question of the police and received very little response. i have had little response from the triathlon association Singapore and Sport Singapore.
‘My concern is another guy died in the same circumstances – and lessons must be learnt. People enter these events thinking they are strong and fit enough, but things go wrong.
‘i think there’s a culture in certain countries to save face, which i understand. they are protecting local business, and it is a business. there’s a perception we are trying to lay blame, but i think it’s a case of no one wants to put themselves up to be accused of being the guilty party.’
the inquest began on May 13. it was scheduled to finish yesterday but was postponed for discussions between Sport Singapore and the triathlon association of Singapore about how best to ensure water safety protocols were completed. No future date has been set for any further hearings.
No one at Sport Singapore or the triathlon association Singapore was available for comment.
‘Lessons must be learnt’