Toronto triathlete who died during Ireland Ironman race ‘lived life to the fullest’

Orangeville resident Jim Schembri was looking forward to hearing all about his good friend Ivan Chittenden’s experience participating in the Youghal Ironman in Cork, Ireland.

Instead, early Sunday morning he received news that no one ever wants to get.

Shortly after 5 a.m. that day, Schembri answered a call from Ivan’s wife informing him that the Etobicoke resident had died while taking part in the triathlon’s swimming leg.

Chittenden was one of two people who lost their lives during the 1.9-kilometre opening section of the race.

“As soon as I heard Siobhan speak I knew something really bad had happened,” he said during an interview with CP24.com on Wednesday.

Chittenden, 64, retired two years ago from Ernst & Young and had been splitting his time between Toronto and Dallas, where his spouse works as an urologist.

The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.

Schembri told CP24 that prior to last Sunday’s triathlon he’d spoken with his friend about the different parts of the race, including the swim leg which had been delayed by a day, moved to another location and shortened due to the lingering effects of UK’s powerful Storm Betty.

He said they’d discussed the strong current that Chittenden expected to face for part of the swimming section. However, Schembri said that his friend had been mentally preparing for that challenge and was a “very experienced amateur athlete” who was in good physical shape and ready to take it on.

“Ivan was a very strong and confident swimmer. … I have no idea exactly what happened during that swim,” he said.

Ivan Chittenden, rear left, and Jim Schembri, close friends and training partners, first met Chittenden in 2018 when they both joined the same triathlon training team in Caledon. (Supplied photo)

Schembri and Chittenden started doing triathlons together in their mid 50s but had both quickly excelled in the sport. 

Chittenden, who was also an accomplished marathoner, was someone who deeply loved pushing his limits and would travel around the world to race, Schembri said. Recently, they’d spoken about him possibly trying out for the Half Ironman World Championships.

“Ivan would have loved to achieve that goal,” said Schembri, who first met Chittenden in 2018 when they both joined the same triathlon training team in Caledon.

Despite training together extensively, Schembri and Chittenden had only raced together twice, most recently in April at the Boston Marathon.

Schembri stopped doing triathlons in 2019, and had been moderating his training as of late due to a heart condition, but continued to cycle and run. Chittenden would frequently accompany him on rides in the GTA, especially during the pandemic.

“He was my favourite training partner. … He was the person that I rode with the most and sadly we won’t get to go out ever again,” he shared.

“We were of a similar age. We had lots of conversations. We just enjoyed each other’s company.”

Schembri said Chittenden was a “kind, thoughtful, friendly, caring, health conscious” person who “lived life to the fullest” every day.

Toronto resident Ivan Chittenden died on Sunday, Aug. 20 while competing in the swim portion of the Youghal Ironman race in Cork, Ireland. (Supplied photo)

QUESTIONS ABOUT WATER SAFETY

In the wake of Chittenden’s death, questions are being raised about whether it was safe to go ahead with last Sunday’s event.

In a statement provided to CP24.com, national governing body Triathalon Ireland confirmed the news of death of the two men and offered its “deepest condolences” to their families.

“(We are) reeling from the news that Ivan Chittenden and Brendan Wall, athletes in the Ironman Cork event in Youghal, tragically died yesterday morning while participating in the race. Our thoughts and prayers are with (their) loved ones,” said the organization’s CEO Darren Coombes.

“The triathlon community is a very close community and this loss has had a devastating effect on all of us.

Coombes went on to note that technical officials from Triathlon Ireland had reviewed the conditions at the course as per “normal practice” and had informed “race organizers that it was not possible to sanction the race.”

The race, however, went ahead.

In a statement provided to CP24, the organizer of the event IRONMAN said that the race was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday after the swim course was declared “unsuitable for racing” and to “provide a safer race for athletes.”

IRONMAN added that on Aug. 20, their local officials along with the “on-swim” safety team then “carried out all standard safety protocol checks that are completed at every race and determined water conditions were safe for the swim to take place.”

“Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends of the two athletes who passed,” IRONMAN said.