St. Anthonys Triathlon

Today was the famed St. Anthonys Triathlon in downtown St. Petersburg Florida. I was invited to join more than 50 volunteers to provide Kayak support for the 1.5 kilometer swim portion of this olympic distance triathlon. The way kayak support works is kayakers are dispersed along the length of the swim course in regular intervals on the inside and the out side of the bouys that mark the course. We are there to watch the swimmers and assist them if they have trouble or just need a place to hang out and catch thier breath. This morning at about 6am me and my buddy Mitch packed up and headed for the beach. I brought my home built skin-on-frame kayak and many others were there on boats borrowed from Bill Jacksons in Pinellas Park. Darry Jackson was in charge of the kayak support today. The weather was beautiful today and the water was very calm. Though
there were thousands of racers out there swimming today so we had to keep our eyes open. It was not an easy task, sitting out there just waiting as they all swam by. I had a few tired swimmers hold onto my boat for a little rest but thankfully no emergencies. As I was sitting there feeling a little tired watching the swimmers and facing the sun I saw what i thought to be a cormorant swimming between several triathletes. I thought to myself that it must have just been someones arm and that I must be going a little crazy. I saw it again. I yelled to the next kayaker down the line to see if i was going crazy but sure enough he saw it too. There was the water fowl swimming right along with the racers, within inches of two other swimmers, following the course. Must have been the craziest thing ive seen all day. A customer of mine from Carollwood Bicycle Emporium recognized me out on the water and shouted to me. I thought that was pretty cool. All in all it was a good day and I had a good time.
Later on after I had gotten out of the water to take some pictures Mitch told me that a swimmer had drowned within feet of where we were watching the athletes. Though there were plenty of kayakers near her she had just exhausted herself and did not make it. It is a very sad thing to hear and though im not sure if she made it or not my prayers go to her and her family. What a terrible thing to happen.

UPDATE:
The woman who drowned earlier today was resuscitated in the ambulance enroute to the hospital. Thank God that she is ok and thank God that our job can be considered a success. Here is the story as posted in the St. Pete Times

" "ST. PETERSBURG - Juli Marshall wasn't breathing when a lifeguard pulled her out of the water Sunday during the St. Anthony's Triathlon.

A St. Petersburg fire rescue crew rushed the 48-year-old Illinois woman to shore, where she was taken to Bayfront Medical Center.

Paramedics continued to try to resuscitate her and Marshall started to breathe again just before they arrived at the hospital, said St. Petersburg fire Lt. Rick Feinberg.

Family members of the Chicago attorney, and mother of four, flocked to her bedside and phoned updates back and forth Sunday evening.

Her brother, Tom Wilson of Michigan, said she was "doing better" Sunday night and that some color had returned to her face.

"Her pupils are responsive, " he said. "She's feeling pain on both sides of her body."

Ceceile Taft, also of Michigan, whose daughter is married to one of Marshall's brothers, said Marshall was in a "coma-like state, " but able to breathe partly on her own.

Relatives said her nose was broken, indicating she had possible been kicked during the race. But no one could confirm exactly why Marshall lost consciousness.

"We have no information on what happened, " Wilson said. "If she was kicked, if she had a heart attack, it's just speculation right now."

Bonnie Mason, a Triathlon spokeswoman, said she didn't have any information on the incident.

"We do have a swimmer who was transported to Bayfront, " she said. "I don't know anything about her."

Wilson said Marshall had participated in other sporting events, but he didn't know if she had ever been in a triathlon before.

The triathlon's participant roster listed Marshall with a "Team in Training" group. A national endurance sports training program, Team in Training provides coaches and guidance for relative novices who raise money for charities for their participation.

Mason said triathlon staff didn't take any special precautions for Team in Training participants.

"We give all our participants the same attention, " she said.

She added that Sunday's incident will be reviewed by risk managers.

More than 4, 000 individuals and 100 relay teams competed in Sunday's triathlon. It is an Olympic-distance event with a 1.5-kilometer (0.93-mile) swim leg, a 40K (24.8-mile) bike and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.""