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downsmail.co.uk Triathlon death ‘a tragic accident’


FIT young man Paul Gallihawk drowned taking part in Ocean Lake charity event, a Maidstone inquest heard.


The 34-year-old was a keen sportsman who regularly played football. He had taken part in a half marathon and other running events. He had been training for his first triathlon at Leybourne Lakes on August bank holiday weekend last year and, although nervous, was looking forward to taking part. Mr Gallihawk, who lived with


his partner Hayley Wright in Post- mill Drive, Tovil, wanted to raise money for King’sCollege Hospital, where his father Malcolm had been treated the previous year. Hayley raised the alarm when


Mr Gallihawk failed to emerge from the water at the end of the 750-metre swim in the Ocean Lake Triathlon onAugust 29, 2015. A search of the lake with boats


and scuba divers failed to find Mr Gallihawk, who worked for a sales recruitment company. The Kent Fire and Rescue Service


joined the search, along with vol- unteers from Kent Search and Res- cue, but it was not until 9.30am on Monday, August 31, that Mr Galli-


for 10 years and took daily medica- tion to keep the condition at bay, the inquest heard. He also suffered from Crohn’s disease but this was unlikely to have contributed to his death, said Dr Rouse. The inquest heard that therewere


seven kayakerswatching the group of 108 swimmers, aswell as a safety boat with a crew of two on board. One man was pulled from the


Paul Gallihawk


hawk’s body was discovered by a dive team brought in from Norfolk. Mr Gallihawk’s body was found


seven metres deep in the lake, 87 metres from the start of the race. Pathologist Dr David Rouse


found the cause of death to be im- mersion. There were no marks or signs of injury on Mr Gallihawk’s body and therewas nothing to sug- gest he had been injured or suf- fered a fit. Mr Gallihawk did suffer from epilepsy, but had not had a seizure


water after getting into difficulties, but nobody saw Mr Gallihawk, who was swimming with the less- confident contingent, disappear. He had been suffering from


dizzy spells and, a few weeks be- fore the triathlon, consultant neu- rologist Dr Jonathan Chan found Mr Gallihawk may have suffered a vasovagal (fainting) episode and advised him to increase his salt and water intake, particularly while he was in training. Dr Rouse told the inquest: “If Mr Gallihawk had suffered a fainting episode, it would not be evident from the post mortem examina- tion.”


Although Mr Gallihawk was not


an experienced open water swim- mer, thewaterwas not cold enough to cause hypothermia and he was wearing awet suit. Dr Rouse said: “Unfortunately,


the post mortem only gives us pos- sibilities, rather than probabilities.” Mr Gallihawk’s parents Malcolm


and Linda, who attended the in- quest, were concerned at the amount of weed in the lake, but coroner Patricia Harding assured them the weeds were well below the level of the swimmers, with six metres of clearwater above. Following the inquest, Mr Galli-


hawk Snr, from Leeds, said he felt questions remained unanswered. “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for,” he said. The coroner said she was unable


to determine how exactly Mr Galli- hawk had drowned but recorded a verdict of accidental death. She said: “The death of this young, fit man was a tragic acci- dent. However, I do not have con- cerns that any further deaths may occur. It was a very great tragedy that he died theway that he did.”


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