Two men have tragically passed away this morning in separate incidents at an Ironman triathlon event in Youghal, Co. Cork.
Both men - one aged in his 40s and one in his 60s - were taking part in the swimming section when they got into difficulty and, as reported by the Gardaí, had to be pulled from the water by emergency services.
One of them men is Irish and has been living in the UK, while the other is from Canada.
Ironman Ireland released the following statement on their Facebook page:
"We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of two race participants at the IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork 2023.
"During the swim portion of Sunday’s race, safety personnel provided immediate medical attention upon recognising the athletes were in need of assistance.
"We share our greatest sympathies with the families and friends of the athletes and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time.
"We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athletes with medical assistance."
The race itself had 2000 participants with some taking part in the half-triathlon [70.3 miles], while other took part in the full race [226.3 miles].
Race organisers had also reduced the swimming section of the course from 3.8 km to 1.9 km.
