Triathlon community mourns the loss of athlete who “died doing what he loved”
Ivan Chittenden's coach and training partners reflect on how triathlon changed his life
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courtesy Lisa Bentley
The triathlon world has been reeling from the news of the death of two athletes, Canada’s Ivan Chittenden and Ireland’s Brendan Wall during the swim at Ironman 70.3 Ireland, Cork on Sunday. A ceremony was held for Chittenden yesterday in Ireland.
Chittenden, 64, was gearing up to celebrate his 65th birthday this fall with a “tour” of races that included the Boston Marathon in April, Â got into the sport in February, 2012. He had joined Lisa Bentley’s training group as he mourned the loss of his first wife, Dianne, in 2011. When he first joined the group he was “so sad and so quiet and so grey,” Bentley remembers.
It wasn’t long before he was hooked on the sport. A long time runner, Chittenden did his first triathlon at Guelph Lake in June, 2012. His first Ironman 70.3 race came that fall in Muskoka. His first Ironman came in 2013, and he would go on to complete five Ironman races, eight 70.3 events and competed in all six “marathon majors” – Tokyo, Berlin, New York City, Boston, Chicago and London.
Fast forward a few years and Chittenden, remarried to Siobhan Hyland, “was no longer a quiet, reserved man but full of life with sporting goals, a new bride and her son and daughter,” Bentley says.
“Ivan loved triathlon,” Bentley says. “He was no longer the rookie doing 45 min rides and 1,000 m swims. He was a confident athlete routinely throwing down three to four hour rides, 90 min runs and 2,500 to 3,000 m swims and strength work.”
Chittenden retired from Ernst and Young a few years ago, and was splitting his time between Dallas, where Hyland works as a urologist, and Toronto. His “turning 65” tour included last weekend’s race, where he hoped to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand next year. He ran Boston with a close friend, Jim Schembri.
“He did Boston because he knew it was going to be my last race,” Schembri told the Toronto Star. “Turns out it was his last race, too.”
Bentley is choosing not to focus on any of that.
“Ivan lived more in the last 12 years than many of us,” Bentley says. “He got out of his comfort zone. He travelled. He trained. He raced. He became a father figure to Jack and Kate. He would take Kate to equestrian competitions. He took Jack to University of Waterloo for site visits and ultimately first year university. He and Siobhan had great trips and he always tacked on a few days to his triathlon races so he could enjoy good food and good sights.”
“He was the happiest he ever was,” Bentley continues. “Our sport saved Ivan when he needed a new love after losing his wife.”
