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By Joy Fang
A CHIEF executive officer of a telco has become the first person to die in a triathlon or marathon here this year.
Mr Calvin Lee Wee Sing, 42, CEO of Deutsche Telekom Asia (DTA) and father of a 12-year-old daughter, died yesterday afternoon after competing in the Osim Singapore International Triathlon.
He was in the 1.5km swimming leg of the Olympic Distance - Mix/Open Relay. The relay also included a 40km-cycling and a 10km-running route.
A life marshal signalled for a jet ski to go to the rescue of Mr Lee, who was spotted looking disoriented in the sea at 1.06pm, half an hour after the swimming leg had begun.
He was unconscious and foaming at the mouth when taken to shore. Paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and doctors applied an automated external defibrillator on him.
He was transferred to Changi General Hospital at 1.25pm, where he died at 2.35pm. The cause of death is under investigation.
Mr Lee's teammate, Mr Alan Yeo, 42, who is the director of communications in DTA, said they did not know Mr Lee was in trouble.
"We were in the relay transition area waiting for him to come," he said.
Said teammate Ernest Chia, 42, the director of sales at DTA: "When he did not turn up, I went to the carpark and I saw the ambulance. They were trying to revive him with CPR and oxygen. I saw them put him in the ambulance and speed off to the hospital."
He added that Mr Lee had been training regularly in a pool in the last two weeks, at least.
When my paper contacted Mr Lee's wife, she said she was not at the event and "was so shocked". She declined to speak further.
Others who died while competing in long-distance events in previous years include triathlete Thaddeus Cheong, 17 - who took part in the South-east Asia Games triathlon-selection race in 2007 - and army captain Ho Si Qiu, 25, in the Army Half Marathon Run in the same year.
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