A mother has said her husband was ‘failed by Ironman’, after he died while undertaking the gruelling triathlon event last year.
Sam Buchan, 31, was about 0.6miles into the swimming leg of the Ironman 70.3 race on July 13 last summer in Swansea Marina when he was pulled from the water, onto a support boat, and given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
But now his heartbroken family have called for better medical training and safety protocols at the intense fitness events, as his widow said her family was left ‘broken’ and said their two-year-old daughter would not get to grow up with her father.
Samantha Buchan believes the amount of time it took for her husband to be pulled from the water and taken to the medical tent killed him. His widow also said there was ‘very little to no access to appropriate first aid equipment’ on the day, and ‘potentially a lack of training’.
The inquest held in Swansea heard how after being rescued from the water, Mr Buchan was transferred to Morriston Hospital, but died on July 16 after his life support was switched off.
A post-mortem examination found that the father-of-one from Aberdeen had died from ‘anoxic ischemic encephalopathy, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and exertional heat stroke during a sporting event’.
Mr Buchan, who worked as an engineer in the North Sea oil and gas industry, had made the trip to west Wales with his family for the event.
The competition featured a 1.2 mile (1.9km) swim at the Prince of Wales Dock before a 56-mile (90km) bike course through Mumbles and along the Gower clifftops which looped back into Swansea for a final 13.1 mile (21.1km) run.
Sam Buchan (pictured), of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, died while undertaking the gruelling triathlon event in Swansea last year
Pictured: competitors at the Swansea triathlon which was the UK’s first ever Ironman Pro Series event. Those competing embarked on a 1.2-mile swim in Prince of Wales Dock, a 56-mile bike course through coastal roads and countryside, and a 13.1 mile run along the Mumbles
His wife told the inquest that her husband had no medical history apart from mild asthma and hay fever, and that he had been training for the event for 12months.
Mrs Buchan said: ‘Sam was a very active, friendly person who spent spare time trying out new hobbies, such as hiking, surfing, roasting his own coffee, cooking, weightlifting, running and cycling.
‘He took part in many events such as 10K runs, half-marathons and many others throughout his life.
‘He had built up to the Ironman, which was researched, memorised and trained for thoroughly for over one year.’
Mrs Buchan said she was not at the event in person but was following his progress via his Ironman tracker.
‘I received a phone call at 8.55am from Ironman to notify me Sam had suffered a cardiac arrest in the water and was now on his way to Morriston Hospital,’ she said.
The following day Mrs Buchan was told by doctors that her husband was showing significant signs of lasting brain damage. He died in the early hours of July 16.
She said: ‘I have serious concerns around the length of time taken for Sam to receive first aid.
The 70.3 triathlon event (pictured) was held on July 13, with temperatures reaching scorching highs of above 28C during a blistering summer heatwave. Disaster struck when the father-of-one was spotted struggling in the water while competing in the swimming section
‘From the various stories I was told over that day, it took anything from between 10 to 30minutes to get Sam from the water and to start chest compressions.
‘It appears that the first aid was second to none when Sam made it to the medical tent. But the time it took to get him there would have caused his death.’
Samantha believes Ironman failed her husband in providing the right medical care. She said: ‘It appeared to be very little to no access to appropriate first aid equipment and potentially a lack of training to deal with this type of medical emergency.
‘Taking more than eight minutes to retrieve a body from the water and not having appropriate equipment to start active chest compressions, or even attempting a precordial thump, is not allowing any participant to ever survive if put in the same scenario.
‘Sam should have woken up from this medically. But sadly, due to the time his brain was starved of oxygen, he has now lost his entire life.’
Mrs Buchan added: ‘His two-year-old daughter will not get to grow up with him, and the entire family is broken.
‘Nothing can be changed in our situation, but I hope for the future that better protocols and safety equipment can be put in place, so no other family has to go through this again.’
The inquest heard evidence from various people involved in rescuing Mr Buchan, who said that it took around three-and-a-half minutes from him first being seen in difficulty in the water to reach the medical station.
Safety team paddleboarder Wayne Evans was the first person to reach Mr Buchan after seeing him stop swimming.
Mr Evans said: ‘I asked him again, are you all right? This time, there was no thumbs up or response. I quickly paddled over to him.
‘There was no response and I noticed he was starting to sink.’
Mr Evans said there were no signs of breathing, so he positioned Mr Buchan on his paddle board to give him breaths and alerted the nearby rescue boat.
Tom Denham, who was onboard and trained in emergency care, started CPR, but due to a problem with the boat Mr Buchan was transferred to a second boat which took him to the shore.
Doctor Ed Langford, who was leading the medical team at the Ironman event, said Mr Buchan had developed hyperthermia and had a core body temperature of 40.4C.
Mr Langford said: ‘Because it might be a potential cause, we started cooling right from the outset of him arriving with us.
‘Clearly the first part of that is to cut the wetsuit off, and that obviously would retain heat.
‘We get cold water, and so that cold water is being applied to Sam simultaneously before we know what his temperature is.
‘It’s a potential abnormality. Whilst he felt cool, probably because he had been in the water, we don’t know what the core temperature is.
‘One of the contributing factors certainly is the fact that his temperature is above 40 degrees.
‘He’s obviously got neurological compromise given that he’s in cardiac arrest. We would describe that as severe exertional heat illness.’
Aled Gruffydd, the senior coroner for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, recorded a narrative conclusion.
Mr Gruffydd said: ‘In considering the evidence, I find Sam suffered a cardiac arrest after overheating in the swim leg of the Ironman 70.3 event in Swansea.
‘A lot was made in the inquest of trying to drill down the exact length of time (the rescue) took, and this was a difficult exercise given some conflicting timings.
‘In my view, I make a finding it was more in the region of five minutes.
‘The engine of the boat having difficulties was regrettable and did add to the transfer, but I do not consider, in view of the CPR that was ongoing, that that would have altered the outcome.
‘I cannot speculate how Sam succumbed to heat exertion in that environment, only that it was deeply tragic and unforeseeable.
‘Sam’s death is completely tragic in such circumstances, doing something that he had trained so long to partake in.’
The Daily Mail contacted Ironman for comment.