WINDERMERE, Britain, June 21. ACCORDING to several media reports including the North-West Evening Mail, a 46-year-old man died and a "man in his late 50s or early 60s" was airlifted from the Great North Swim that took placed in Windermere.<\/p>\n
The 46-year-old man, who has not been identified in media reports, "was treated on the scene by medics, but was pronounced dead later that day" after collapsing in the water during the one-mile swim.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the older man "suffered cardiac arrest" during the swim on Saturday. His heart stopped beating, but medics were able to stabilize him and he was in critical condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary. <\/p>\n
Meet organizers released the following statement on their website regarding the tragedy:<\/p>\n
"We deeply regret the tragic loss of life at the Great North Swim at the weekend and offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of the individual concerned, who was a man, local to the area."<\/p>\n
Additionally, the meet organizer's press officer David Hart stated the following:<\/p>\n
"We have got world-class systems in place, world-class people working in those systems, and an event plan that's been made with years of experience. The practices and all the systems worked impeccably and our thoughts are very much with the family of the individual who lost his life yesterday, and will remain so for a very long time. Our responsibility is to create a safe environment for a sporting event and that is what we have done. The conditions have been good all the way through the weekend in terms of the water was not choppy, it was not windy and the water temperature was pretty warm for Windermere. It is inevitable, really, that when approximately 10,000 people swim over three days, there will be challenges and some injuries. And when they have cropped up, the systems that have been put in place have worked extremely well. The man who lost his life was attended to immediately by qualified medical people, all the way through from on the water, to his transfer to the shore, and subsequent transfer by air ambulance. He had the best treatment he could have possibly received."<\/p>\n
Tom Allen of Britain won the elite men's race in 16:30.70, while Germany's Isabelle Haerle claimed the women's title in 17:52.87.<\/p>\n