Ironman Wisconsin announced Sunday night that a participant died following the bike portion of the annual long-distance triathlon race in Madison Sunday.

“It is with profound sadness to confirm the death of a race participant during Sunday’s IRONMAN Wisconsin triathlon,” Ironman Wisconsin wrote on its official Facebook page Sunday. “A race staff member and an off-duty police officer providing race assistance identified the athlete in need of support while on the bike portion of the course.”

The post states the race staff member and off-duty officer provided immediate medical attention to the athlete before emergency medical services transported them to a local hospital. The athlete died while in the hospital.

This is unfortunately not the first time an athlete has died while participating in Ironman Wisconsin.

In 2019, 61-year-old Michael McCulloch of Cottage Grove and 38-year-old Madison firefighter Todd Mahoney both died during the swimming portion of the race, which takes place in Lake Monona.

McCulloch was found unresponsive in the water and then taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Autopsy results indicated he died from an accidental drowning.

Mahoney was found unresponsive in the water during the Ironman 70.3 race, about an hour after McCulloch. Mahoney was taken to the hospital and died two days later.

What is an Ironman?

The full Ironman triathlon is a 140.6-mile, one-day, long-distance triathlon race consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike, followed by a marathon ― a 26.2-mile run.

Ironman Wisconsin also holds the Ironman 70.3 race ― which is half the distance of a full Ironman ― where athletes swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles.

The Ironman Wisconsin swim takes place in Lake Monona, the bike course loops through the farmlands of Verona, Mount Horeb, Cross Plains and the surrounding areas, and the run finishes downtown, just past Capitol Square.