Triathlon Ireland says it did not sanction Ironman event

James Cox

Triathlon Ireland says it did not sanction the Ironman race in Cork in which two athletes died.

Brendan Wall (44), from Meath, who lived in the UK, and 65-year-old Ivan Chittenden from Canada got into difficulty during the swimming event in Youghal on Sunday morning.

In a statement released on Monday night, the national governing body for triathlons in Ireland said, in line with normal practice, its technical officials carried out a safety assessment before the race.

However, due to the adverse conditions, they told event organisers it was not possible to sanction the race.

Triathlon Ireland added it would not be appropriate to comment further while an investigation is ongoing and expressed its condolences to families of the two participants who died.