Staff reporter
Monday, August 13, 2012
A senior Hong Kong police officer has died while swimming in the Hudson River as part of the Ironman US Championship in New York.
Reports said superintendent Andy Naylor, 43, of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau had a medical problem during the swimming part of the grueling triathlon.
The veteran competitor "experienced distress" during the 3.9-kilometer swim in the Hudson at the start of the all-day competition, a publicist for the race organizers said. The course runs along the New Jersey shoreline, just north of the George Washington Bridge.
Naylor was pulled out of the water and taken to a hospital at Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, but did not survive.
The organizers said the cause of death is unknown. An autopsy is planned.
Contestants in the race followed their swim in the Hudson with a 180-kilometer bicycle ride through the suburbs, and then a 42.2km marathon that finished at Manhattan's Riverside Park.
Jordan Rapp, a winner of multiple Ironman titles, won the race in an unofficial time of eight hours, 11 minutes and 18 seconds.
Naylor was on holiday when he took part in the event. He used to work in the force's Special Duties Unit and the Police Tactical Unit.
He has taken part in many police and open sports competitions and has won many awards, including the Dowman Road Race in 2007.
He finished the 11.4km race in just 36 minutes and 37 seconds, setting a record. The race is an event open to police officers in Hong Kong.
A police spokesman said the force is sorry to hear about Naylor's death. He said the force has been in contact with Naylor's family and offered assistance.
Despite competitor's death, Ironman organizer's won't increase screening
NorthJersey.com
8/12/2012
Despite a competitor’s death, the Ironman U.S. Championship won’t toughen its screening of athletes who take part in the grueling triathlon, an event organizer said Sunday.
Medical staff give aid to the swimmer in the boat.
The athlete who died was identified by The Standard, a Hong Kong newspaper, as Andrew Naylor, a 43-year-old Hong Kong police officer. Ironman officials would not confirm the report.
The three-part Ironman race, which made its debut in the Hudson River on Saturday, won’t be reevaluating its entry process, organizer John Korff said.
“In the triathlon, for whatever reason, if there’s a death it almost always happens in the swim,” Korff said. “All these guys are good swimmers, insane swimmers … But there’s a general category that almost all of these swim deaths fall into. … It’s generally from a preexisting heart condition that’s almost undetectable unless you have a very unique test.”
The competition — consisting of a 2.4-mile swim in the Hudson, a 112-mile bicycle ride and 26.2-mile marathon — was a first for the metropolitan area. Korff confirmed Sunday that a deal has been signed with Fort Lee for events in 2013 and 2014, as well as a multiyear pact with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.
There were approximately 2,200 participants in the Ironman race and 75,000 spectators on both sides of the Hudson, Korff said.
“It’s far more than any Ironman has ever had,” he said of the attendance. The Ironman organization, noting that some visitors are bound to extend their stay in the New York-New Jersey area this week, estimated that the competition will generate $10 million to $15 million for New Jersey and $35 million for New York City.
The man identified as Naylor was seen in distress while swimming in the Hudson River as the competition kicked off, and Ironman safety personnel were dispatched to him. Naylor was listed as a race participant on the Ironman website, which indicated that he didn’t finish the race.
The cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Korff said he’s been asked why the Ironman doesn’t require registrants to take medical exams, and added that many past deaths have been due to preexisting conditions.
He said it is problematic if a contestant’s insurance won’t cover an exam or special tests.
“These guys have been training for 20 hours a week for six or seven months. … They know they’re in shape,” Korff said.
The Ironman actually did take a special precaution during its first leg, the swim, Korff said. Typically, 2,000 competitors would jump in the water at once.
“That’s like a washing machine,” Korff said. “People get kicked, they start swimming over one another.”
Instead, Saturday’s participants jumped in the river in stages, with a group of five to 15 entering the water every 10 to 15 seconds, Korff said. That also meant safety personnel would have an easier time spotting the swimmers, he added.
“Our swim safe-keepers can physically see people because they’re not all bunched up together,” Korff said. “The course was divided into zones. Groups of swim safety people were responsible for a certain geographic zones … They could see it and they were on it. You were not trying to watch this mass of people. You’re looking at 26 people in your area, and then it’s a new 26 people every five minutes or so.”
While The Standard did not directly attribute its source when identifying Naylor, it reported that a Hong Kong police spokesman said the department had been in contact with Naylor’s family.
Naylor, a veteran marathon runner, was a member of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau, according to The Standard.
The stricken swimmer was pulled out of the water and emergency medical crews performed CPR on a rescue boat. He was taken to the emergency room at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
Jessica Weidensall, director of global public relations for the Ironman, said she could not confirm the victim’s identity because of privacy laws.
The Ironman competition was briefly imperiled late last week when sewage leaking into the Hudson nearly derailed the swim portion. Even so, local officials deemed the event a success.
“The whole community turned out,” said Crain Weinstein, chairman of the Ironman Committee of the Fort Lee Regional Chamber of Commerce. “It was great for the businesses. … And police didn’t have trouble with traffic, just a little bit on Lemoine Avenue.”
But at least one person was disturbed at how the race interfered with traffic, and worried what impact next June’s three-day Formula One Grand Prix in Weehawken would have on local businesses.
Brigitte Neumann, president of the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce, said she had difficulty getting around Edgewater on Saturday because of closed roads.
She was particularly concerned about the implications of the Formula One Grand Prix, which expects 125,000 spectators a day.
“You can’t paralyze businesses … for three days,” she said.
The Gold Coast Chamber has formed a Formula One committee, which is requesting a meeting with Edgewater Mayor James Delaney, Neumann said.
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