SAFRA/Navy Biathlon 2006 and World Harmony Run

Sad news to report today from the SAFRA/Navy Biathlon 2006. A 39-year old army officer died during the race today. My deepest, deepest condolences to his family. :(

[ChannelNewsAsia report here]

I arrived at East Coast Park this morning at around 10:30 am to cheer on my friends who were participants in the biathlon. By that time, the officer had already been sent to Changi General Hospital after collapsing near to the finishing line. At that time, I didn't realise that anyone had been sent to hospital...the crowds were still buzzing happily away, cheering at the other runners, collecting their goodie bags, waiting for the final results... All of us who had gathered there were in good spirits: Alvo, Meteor, sxuanjing, Balasing, Penguin, Cheow12, Violet, DO, Astrogirl, SportsVenturer, Mythos, Jennifery, Kops21, Gentle, Tiwazz, Hedgehog, Ironmandreamer, Eunice, SC5, David, etc. I also met Wilson and Zac there.

When the race was done, we headed for Marine Parade for lunch, and waited for our friends who were on the World Harmony Run (WHR) to come by the area. At around 1 pm, we saw the torch-bearer approach us at the Marine Parade Community Centre. Among the WHR runners were Tekko, Brokie, whr, Bee, Cokiee, DiverRunner, Seal, Sotong, Le_Charlotte, DreamRunner, and more. At the CC, they stopped a while to rest and take pictures, and then went on their last leg of their 37-km journey.

Later on, Alvo, Meteor, Tiwazz and I headed for Suntec City for our session at Planet Fitness. Balasing joined us on the journey there, because he wanted to take a nice, relaxing shopping break in the area. While in the car, I received an SMS from Run3, and that was the first time all afternoon that I became aware that someone could have been hospitalised after the biathlon.

After our BodyCombat lesson at the gym, we received an SMS from Kelly, confirming the dreadful news. :(

Once again, deepest condolences to the family. This is the second recent fatality in our local sports scene. Just last year, another participant drowned during the New Balance Corporate Triathlon. Were there insufficient safety measures put in place? Did the competitors push themselves too hard? I guess the lesson for us to learn is to listen to your body, and don't force it to exert beyond what it can take...but that is easier said than done. I know full well that the human competitive spirit, the one that pushes each individual to his/her personal hallmark of excellence, is an unrelenting force during a competition.