The Disaster at Morro Bay Ironman 70.3

19 min video first 5 min ..nothing..moving on

I did at Black Hills 100 in 2014 a 50 mile, then the shortest distance you could do for race. Well stream that year were full from spring rains in particular I asked how deep in pre race slide show because of being only 5 foot 2 inch or 157.5 cm tall and single water crossing was rushing fast becuse it rained all night. Now scarry part at water stop was only a guy who was photographer for racing company helping do bare minimum for race was at water crossing, now I was going on way out video you see me have to go on rope line and help a women in her 50''s have 107 pounds/49 kilograms of ballots me so she could cross and I bounced my tailbone on a rock when she got out yet I managed to hang on using my knowledge of what to do during events like this using my legs in hanging on o rope as well when I first butt bounced. Now on way back I saw much later on in Photo part of race company website in a group or 2 just before me was a guy doing final year of 100K and he on way back messes up and ends up going down river caught on camera but eventually deleted from companies race photos, fortunately black guy who was in around 5–10 year going to be dying from an uncurable cancer so him dyeing/missing forever family did not considered a need for a lawsuit. Guy is probably dead and buried in river as nobody found him or his body when searching later.
Almost nobody did Tatonka 100 which uses first 50 miles on same Black Hills Centennial trail and would have been nobody except 3 crazy people on early fat tire bikes and of them only 1 finished becuse man made bridge or a crossing later on was under water and one person was tall enough to carry his bike over and have head above water.

Signing a waiver of death does not excuse Ironman corporation from willful negligence. This is criminal

I didn’t do this race, but I did a 70.3 in Couer D’Alene Idaho a few years ago, and I live locally. That particular year we had an abnormally cold winter and very cold spring. The lake was questionable until 2 days before the race, even then it was right on the cutoff of too cold which was 60 degrees. Leading up until race day, Ironman was sending updates about the water temperature, and the requirements for the swim to happen at all, and the required temperature for a modified swim. I know it’s different than an ocean/bay swim, but lake CDA is huge and incredibly cold most of the time. Ironman absolutely failed these athletes and they are lucky they didn’t have a worse outcome.

I grew up in the area and know how cold and rough the ocean can be around Morro Bay. Even strong swimmers can get in serious trouble there . Maybe the organizers should have talked to the local surfers.

Ironman Florida a couple years ago was brutal in the swim too with a rip current and super high winds, temps in the 50's, hundreds of DNF's, but at least the water wasn't in the 50's it was actually warmer in the water. This looks brutal on another level. I hope this doesn't put the new people off Ironman.

lol I did a Olympic marathon in the Hudson River about 20 years ago we all got washed down the river! lol we got out of the water and we were all wondering, ok are we disqualified? Then people started screaming at us to go! So we ran up the beach and started biking, as long as no one got hurt it’s just one of the hose things.

You need an editor

Don't blame Morro Bay. As a local, I can tell you, this is how it is in the bay. Should have been timed at slack tide. But even so, if there was a very high and low tide that day, the flow would have been gnarly. We're sad to see Ironman go, but it apparently isn't a good venue for the event. Contestants, if trained in open ocean and surf, may have had an easier time outside the bay that day. Us locals are bummed and sorry it was such a blowout. Non-triathlete here. Best wishes for a better venue next year.💪

Local here…two things contribute to those conditions.
1) a weather pattern brought colder than usual water temps. It swept down from Alaska more vigorously than usual and yeah, global warming is a factor. Water temps used to be normal at 54-55 by late Spring.
2) The bay was due to be dredged. When the tide goes out, shallower water turns it into a river, anyway. The Army Corps of Engineers dredges Morro Bay on a regular basis and they just finished a few weeks ago as I write this. They largely focus on the area from the entrance to about 300 yards past the starting buoy in your images. This moves the strong current deeper but it still can be a challenge if you’re paddling, let alone swimming.
I guess when you schedule an Iron Man a year in advance, it’s hard to predict tides?
I’ve seen people give up and paddle to the shallows on the sand spit, get out and walk to tow their canoe or kayak against the current.

I've seen the tide come through the entrance to the bay and there were withwater rapids.

MB local here… i guess it never dawned on the organizers to look at a tide chart and swim the other direction 😂😂

Isn’t World Triathlon currently delaying the start of the Olympic Tri in part due to the current? Not just water quality?

Maybe get your competition out of Morro bay. You people will ruin this town like the rest of California.

I’m a sailor, and we have to deal with the same current issues, it’s a much bigger deal than people think. Not only does it slow you down, but you can’t even slow down to take a break because you’ll start to go backwards. Demoralizing and dangerous

I live in the area and that current is 100% predictable. So are the changes in water temperature with the incoming and outgoing tides.

I didn’t even have to watch your video to already know that the tides are stupid strong. Do you not see the boats on the morays turn about face into the currents.. as a fisherman you sometimes on a 1 ft low tide to a 5-6’ high..it is a river. That is literally channeled. But how didn’t people who supposedly train for this not know how powerful the tides are. Or maybe they were the smart ones who said hell no!!!! That’s suicide