Jean-Francois Alain was a healthy father who had competed in triathlons for more than a decade.
He was going to turn 50 this year and his widow, Veronique Tremblay, says she set out to complete the Ironman triathlon to mark the milestone.
The grueling event requires a lot of preparation, so in addition to training at home in Montreal, he and a friend signed up for a half-ironman in Galveston, Texas. on April 7, 2024.
Tremblay, who usually traveled with her husband and shared his love of running, remembers the last time they spoke. FaceTime was over and Alain had just finished carb-loading to prepare for the big day.
“I was excited,” he said. “I told him to stay safe.”
Jean-Francois Alain was a healthy father who had competed in triathlons for more than a decade, his wife said. (Sent)
She said she was in excellent health and had even gone to the doctor the week before she left.
The next morning, during the first leg of the triathlon (the swim), something went wrong. According to Tremblay, he had raised his hand for help. What happened in the minutes between that signal and his arrival at the hospital is now part of an investigation the family has organized through Houston attorney William Moye.
Tremblay says witness accounts have indicated there may have been a delay in getting help.
“It’s not like it was floating around and they didn’t notice,” he said. “He raised his hand asking for help. And after that, some witnesses came forward and there is information that points to the fact that there were challenges.”
She says the loss of her husband of 29 years, father of her two teenage children, has been devastating. “He was my best friend,” she said.
Event organizers did not respond to an interview request from CTV News. An autopsy has been completed but results will not be available for several months.
Deaths during Ironman events are rare, but they do occur. The vast majority of these deaths occur during the swimming portion of the triathlon.
Duke University anesthesiologist Dr. Richard Moon has been researching deaths that occur during triathlons for years.
He says that while most assume these deaths are caused by heart attacks, evidence shows there may be another reason.
“For example, if it’s a heart attack, you would expect people to be exposed to the same stress in terms of exercise, whether it’s running or cycling, as they are swimming. And yet there are very few deaths during the events.” dry conditions of a triathlon,” he said.
“That, to me, suggested that there might be another explanation, which I was interested in exploring, which was swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE).”
The condition occurs when the lungs fill with fluid from inside the body instead of water. He says some people are more susceptible to this condition and research is being used to determine risk factors and prevent deaths from occurring.
Meanwhile, Tremblay is planning a celebration of her husband’s life.
“He was the driving force of our family,” she said. “The last moments I had with him before he died I asked him to give me strength to continue in the way he was leading our family.”