Blenheim Palace triathlete who died was seconds away from finish

In an incident which happened very quickly, 56-year-old Andrew Phillips' feet became in danger of becoming entangled in a rope attached to a buoy - a fact which organisers of the swimming event are to review before this year's event which is just weeks away.

An inquest in Oxford heard that Mr Phillips, from Altrincham, had been one of a large number of people taking part in last year's triathlon event in the lake at historic Blenheim Palace in Woodstock.

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However, having heard three days' evidence, Oxfordshire senior coroner Darren Salter concluded that nothing more could have been done to save the experienced swimmer.

The triathlon includes swimming for 750m

The inquest had heard how Mr Phillips was spotted by another competitor “floating” and “gliding” face-down in the lake at the spectacular palace lake.

Mr Phillips was pulled from the water and taken to doctors on standby just yards away from the triathlon finish line, shortly after midday on May 28 last year.

People taking part in the race complete a 750m swim before cycling 19.8km and then running 5.4km.

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Mr Salter heard that Mr Phillips was just 30 yards away from getting out of the water when he was spotted unconscious.

The coroner said that it all happened “within seconds” and “very quickly."

The coroner was played a video clip from the event which showed lifeguards racing to the exit pontoon at the side of the lake and dragging the stricken swimmer out of the water.

He was resuscitated on the bank of the lake before being carried to the medical tent, no more than 30 seconds away.

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Within two minutes, doctors said he was in cardiac arrest and gave him CPR and IV fluids before he was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

He never regained consciousness and died three days later.

The inquest had heard earlier that Mr Phillips’ feet had become entangled in the rope of a buoy which was in place to tell swimmers they was close to the finish line.

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Samantha Wheeler, who as a Swim Safety lifeguard on the pontoon at the time of the incident, told Mr Salter: “He was swimming into the rope and I signalled him to swim to the left, away from the rope.

He corrected his course.

I saw him swim past my feet by the pontoon, then around the buoy at which point I couldn’t see where he had gone.

“I took a step back to see if he had come out the other way.

"Then I saw him face-down and another swimmer shouted that there was a problem.”

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She said that Mr Phillips had been swimming slowly which was common for swimmers and that he did not show any signs of distress like kicking or yelling.

The coroner heard how there had been lifeguards watching the swimmers and people on boats at every 25m along the course in the lake.

However, the company in charge of the swimming section of the race agreed that the position of the buoy needed to be reviewed so that lifeguards had clear visibility of the swimmers.

A spokesman for company, Swim Safety, told the coroner that they were having meetings to discuss what would be happening at the next triathlon at Blenheim, which is just weeks away on the first weekend of June.

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Mr Salter asked for a letter in the next 14 days to tell him the outcome of that discussion.

The coroner said a pathologist gave the medical cause of Mr Phillips' death as an ischaemic encephalopathy, meaning a lack of oxygen to the brain and cardiac arrest caused by drowning.

There was no evidence that Mr Phillips' drowning had been caused by any other medical event and that he was an otherwise fit and healthy man with no background of heart problems.

Mr Salter concluded: “The loss of Andy in these circumstances just a few strokes and seconds before the exit ramp, is tragic.

“What is striking is how quickly it happened.

"There is no evidence of Andy having any significant difficulty.

“On the basis of evidence Andy has gone from swimming to being face down in about five to 10 seconds.

“Swim Safety , the company in charge of the swimming part of the triathlon, was swift at getting him onto the pontoon and to the medical tent in a total of about 35 seconds.

“There is no evidence of any delay on the part of Swim Safety staff or any other organisation.

"This happened very, very quickly.

"There is no evidence of splashing about or any difficulty. It’s not only shocking but very sad.”

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He spoke of Mr Phillips care from reaching the medical tent to going the hospital – where specialist doctors said that two minutes without oxygen was enough time to cause “severe significant brain damage”.

However the same doctor also said that he would be “very happy” with a patient getting CPR within two minutes of having a cardiac arrest at a hospital let alone in the community.

Mr Salter recorded a verdict of accidental death.