Two athletes die in NYC Triathlon, Manhattan BP calls for review

The latest: Boro Pres calls for safety check after 2nd triathlon swimmer dies

A 40-year-old Illinois woman hospitalized after competing in the swimming portion of Sunday's Nautica New York City Triathlon has died, according to reports Monday.

Race officials declined to release her name. She suffered from cardiac arrest, officials said.

A 64-year-old man also died while competing in the race Sunday. Officials said Michael Kudryk, of Freehold, N.J., had to be pulled from the Hudson River after suffering a cardiac arrest just before 8 a.m.

Both athletes were taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where the man died, police said.

The swimming leg of the race lasts 1.5 kilometers.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer on Monday called for a review of the race's safety protocols and questioned holding the event in weather conditions that included choppy water and strong currents.

“New Yorkers signed up for a triathlon – not a game of Russian Roulette,” Stringer said in a statement. “Choosing to compete is a decision every athlete has to make for themselves – but it is the obligation of the city to make sure all potential risks are accounted for to the extent possible."

The only other athlete to die in the event was in 2008, when swimmer Esteban Neira, 32, of Buenos Aires, was killed by a disease linked to high blood pressure. Swimmers that year also complained about large jellyfish in the water.

"On behalf of all of us in the triathlon community, our thoughts and prayers are with the athletes and their loved ones,” Bill Burke, the triathlon’s director, said in a statement Sunday.