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Friday, March 29, 2024

UPDATE: Participant dies during Beach2Battleship

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10:45 p.m. Update:

Roger Ackerman, a 68-year-of from Sewanee, Ga., passed away after a medical emergency during the swim portion of the PPD Beach2Battleship Triathlon.

Dick Jones, Wilmington YMCA chief executive officer, said Ackerman was an avid runner. He took up the sport of running at age 50 and completed over 20 100-mile runs. He also completed a feat known by endurance runners as a home run, which is four 100-mile runs in a single season.

In addition to running, Ackerman competed in a swim last month in Georgia to raise money for the Livestrong cancer program.

“He was an amazing athlete,” Jones said during an Oct. 25 phone interview.

Ackerman had a family history of cardiovascular disease. Last spring, he had a stint placed in his heart. Doctors were impressed with his healthy lifestyle and he was cleared to resume all physical activity.

He encountered cardiac distress while completing the swim portion of the triathlon across Banks Channel. Paddleboarders pulled him onto a board and then immediately to one of the safety boats nearby. Event staff began CPR, but neither the event staff nor the New Hanover Regional Medical Center doctors were able to resuscitate him.

“We’re going to debrief and investigate to make sure that all our procedures were followed,” Jones said, “and any improvements in our system, but right now we believe everything that could have been done was done.”

Over 14,000 competitors have participated in the Beach2Battleship Triathlon over the years, Jones added, and this was the first incident of this nature.

Jones said he spent the afternoon with Ackerman’s wife, who is also an athlete and frequently participated in races alongside her husband.

“This was his first triathlon,” Jones said. “He was excited about participating in it and looking forward to finishing, and even thinking about getting a new bike afterwards. He loved life, he was obviously an active healthy adult, a loving husband and grandfather.”

7:30 p.m. update:
Vinny Johnson from Maine won the full Ironman with a final time of 8:28:24.

Emotions ran high as athletes neared the end of the day-long race. Around 6:15 p.m. one of the Ironman finishers proposed to his girlfriend at the finish line.

Shortly after, father and daughter Jessica and Alex Cooper embraced at the finish line after running the entire Ironman side by side.

12:30 p.m. update:

Elite athletes from around the world gathered at the south end of Wrightsville Beach before dawn Saturday, Oct. 25.

At exactly 7:30 a.m., the 700 athletes competing in the iron distance triathlon splashed into the waterway to begin the 2.4-mile swim to Seapath Yacht Club. There, they ripped off wet suits and swim caps and sprinted to the first transition area in Wrightsville Beach Park.

Family members and friends stood by, cheering as competitors buckled on helmets and wheeled their bikes out of the park to begin the 112-mile bike ride. Following the bike leg, they will run a 26.2-mile marathon to the finish line at USS North Carolina Battleship.

Full story coming soon.

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