wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

The safety of triathlon competitions has come under scrutiny following the deaths of two competitors during the Nautica New York City Triathlon last weekend.

Michael Kudryk, 64, of Freehold, N.J., was pulled unconscious from the Hudson River during the swim portion of the event, and police believe he suffered a heart attack.

A 40-year-old woman, who also had difficulty during the swim, later died at a Manhattan hospital after suffering two cardiac arrests.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has asked organizers to conduct a full review of the event and questioned the organizers' decision to go ahead with the swim after rain the previous night and choppy waters, a strong current and 90 degree temperatures on race day. 

"New Yorkers signed up for a triathlon — not a game of Russian Roulette," Stringer said in a statement. "Choosing to compete is a decision every athlete has to make for themselves. But it is the obligation of the city to make sure all potential risks are accounted for to the extent possible."

Participation in the New York City Triathlon, which is an Olympic distance event consisting of a 0.9 mile swim in the Hudson River, a 24.8 mile bike on the Westside Highway and a 6.2 mile run across 72nd Street into Central Park, is through a random 72-hour lottery.  

Some endurance events require athletes to complete a pre-screening before competing in an endurance event.

"For example, if you were going to do the Paris marathon you would have to get a signed letter by a doctor saying that you are healthy enough to do the Paris marathon," said Dr. Jordan Metzl, who practices sports medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery, "We don't do that in the United States and I'm not sure we should be. But the idea that everyone can do everything may no be totally true."

Speaking on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show Tuesday, Metzl — who has also competed in 28 marathons, nine Ironman triathlons and is the medical columnist for Triathlete magazine — said it is true that the risk of death from triathlon is higher than the risk associated with other endurance events, like a marathon.

But, Metzl said, statistically, there is a greater risk in the travel to and from the event itself.

"The risk of death from triathlon is about 1.5 per hundred thousand participants," he said. "For marathoners it's about half that, about 0.8 per hundred thousand. From driving in a car it's about 10 per hundred thousand and riding a motorcycle it's about 70 per hundred thousand. So when you put this in the context of other things that people do to get to a race, it's statistically way more dangerous to get there than to do the race itself."

With the Associated Press