San Pedro man collapses at Redondo Beach Triathlon, dies at local hospital
"Michael Giardino was finishing the swimming leg of the race near the Redondo Beach pier when he collapsed Sunday. The father of two experienced shortness of breath and was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Redondo Beach Patch website. Cause of death was not immediately known. Giardino was 48."
The local news write ups indicated that Mr. Giardino had participated in several running events; I didn't see any mention of swimming events, so my take-away was that swimming might have been new to him, which raises the possibility of "swim anxiety" as has been discussed in articles and threads. In addition to the possibility of a familial health issue given his father's heart attack, the articles made it seem like Mr. Giardino only had taken up exercise and competition after his dad's death, which only occurred a few years back.
The local news write ups indicated that Mr. Giardino had participated in several running events; I didn't see any mention of swimming events, so my take-away was that swimming might have been new to him, which raises the possibility of "swim anxiety" as has been discussed in articles and threads. In addition to the possibility of a familial health issue given his father's heart attack, the articles made it seem like Mr. Giardino only had taken up exercise and competition after his dad's death, which only occurred a few years back.
