USA Triathlon, as the National Governing Body for the sport in the United States, views the safety of our members as a core imperative. Event-related fatalities have captured the attention of our community, raising safety concerns among athletes, family members and other supporters, event organizers, sponsors, community leaders, and the medical community. Over the past several months, we have conducted a careful review of the collective experience with fatalities at USA Triathlon-sanctioned events from 2003 through 2011. Our objectives were to attempt to bring clarity, identify potential patterns and underlying causes, and investigate opportunities to make any future improvements in event safety.
 
A five-member Medical Review Panel was convened, inclusive of three physicians and two race directors with broad experience in triathlon, and particular interest or expertise in the issue of race safety. This group reviewed information for 45 cases and assembled its findings into a preliminary report. Much of the assembled data is presented in the PDF linked below. The preliminary report was shared first with the attendees of the USA Triathlon Race Director Symposium in January 2012 and more recently with a Review Group that was assembled to solicit specific feedback. This Review Group included representatives from the broader triathlon community—athletes, coaches, event organizers, risk management experts, and medical professionals.
 
Click here to view a PDF file of the USA Triathlon Fatality Incidents Study.