42-year-old man dies after competing in Triathlon

QX179R SG

Man who died in Triathlon was fit and had quit smoking

SINGAPORE: Lee Wee Sing, 42, died Sunday afternoon after he competed in the swim leg of the OSIM Singapore Triathlon.

According to a press release, Mr Lee was spotted struggling and disoriented during the swim at East Coast Park by a marshal at 1:06pm.

He was competing in the Olympic Distance Mix/Open relay category.

He was immediately brought to shore by a jet ski.

When he reached the shore, he was foaming at the mouth and unconscious, and paramedics immediately performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him.

Two doctors also rushed to the scene and subsequently took over the CPR and applied an automated external defibrillator on Mr Lee.

He was transferred to the Changi General Hospital (CGH) at 1:25pm

CGH informed the organisers at 2:35pm that Mr Lee had died.

The cause of death is under investigation.

Mr Lee was married with a 12-year-old daughter.

Mark Tay, President of Triathlon Association, who was at CGH with Mr Lee's family said: "At this moment, we are doing our best to render the family any assistance they may require in this point in time. We are sad that this has happened. We will only be able to share more details once the investigation is completed."

- CNA/yb

QX179R SG

Cause of death of CEO at OSIM triathlon still unknown

SINGAPORE: The cause of death of Lee Wee Sing is still not known. The 42-year-old CEO of Deutsche Telekom Asia died on Sunday at the OSIM Singapore Triathlon.

Family members said he was fine before the race. His wife, Choo Share Lin, said all was well when she had breakfast with her husband before the race.

According to Madam Choo, Mr Lee started exercising last year after he quit smoking. Mr Lee also swam regularly with her in the pool. However, he struggled during the 1.5-kilometre swim off the East Coast of Singapore.

Mdm Choo said: "I think the open sea... it was the first time for him. During school time, we used to swim in open seas, but doing this kind of contest was the first time for him."

Mr Lee's two team-mates - who were to do the cycling and running portions of the race following the swim - said Mr Lee was fit and had trained hard for the race, but they gave this warning to other first-time participants.

One of his team-mates, Alan Teo, said: "I think on our own, we had been training pretty extensively. He did his running... his swimming. He had been swimming literally everyday."

Another team-mate, Ernest Chia, said: "Being well-prepared is one thing, (but) to stretch yourself beyond your threshold is probably something you would like to think twice."

The Singapore Triathlon Association (TAS) is giving moral support to the family. The association, which organised the event, said safety measures were in place.

President of the TAS, Mark Tay, said: "The Water Safety Committee was quick enough and went down to the site on Sunday and they had a discussion with us to understand the whole incident, how it happened...

"I'm very sure all the authorities, including TAS and SSC (Singapore Sports Council), will look into this and see how we can improve further and to prevent such a tragedy from happening again."

The family of Mr Lee confirmed that it will be a month before the coroner will inform them about the cause of Mr Lee's death. Meanwhile, his wake is being held at his residence and the funeral will take place on Thursday at 11am.

Mr Lee leaves behind his wife and a nine-year-old daughter.

- CNA/yt

nightzip SG

Any possibility of the jellyfish?

I think this is the FIRST time of "breakdown" for swimming, the past are mostly joggers, though it could be the same mechanism for the breakdown.

Could be underlying/domant H1N1 respiratory issues?

lianamaster SG

Sad...