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Kansas man dies while competing in Boulder Ironman triathlon

Posted at 9:40 PM, Aug 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-07 23:43:46-04
Boulder Ironman
Triathletes run while unzipping their wetsuits as they cross onto land at the finish the first phase of the Ironman 70.3 triathalon in Boulder, Colo., Sunday Aug. 4, 2013. Roughly 2000 competitors swam, biked and ran in the event. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

BOULDER (AP) – An athlete died a day after he was pulled from the water during the Boulder Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Colorado. It was the third death in four years of Ironman competitions in Boulder.

A witness, physician Donald Cain from Wisconsin, told the Daily Camera in Boulder that a man was pulled from the water on Saturday, and Ironman officials say the athlete died Sunday. The Boulder County coroner identified the man as 50-year-old Scott Michaelis, of Wichita, Kansas.

A 70.3 triathlon, or half Ironman, involves swimming 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers), biking 56 miles (90 kilometers) and running 13.1 miles (21 kilometers).

Thirty-four-year-old Michelle Walters, of McCook, Nebraska, died after being struck by a vehicle during the 2016 race, and 40-year-old Brian Godlove of Fairfax, Virginia, died three days after a 2015 race from dehydration and muscle tissue breakdown.