Glamorous triathlete’s haunting submit earlier than drowning throughout Texas Ironman competitors

A glamorous triathlete who drowned throughout an Ironman competitors in Texas shared a photograph from a swimming pool throughout a closing coaching session simply two days earlier than the tragic race.

Brazilian influencer Mara Flávia, 38, shared the shot of her on the sting of a pool on Thursday — two days earlier than she vanished throughout an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning.

“Just another day at work,” Flávia, 38, wrote in Portuguese alongside the pic of her sporting an identical pink swimming costume and cap.

The influencer, who had greater than 60,000 followers on-line, selected the Robin S monitor “Show Me Love” for her submit with the hashtags “triathlon,” “swimming” and “triathlete.”

Flávia vanished throughout an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning – the primary of three grueling trials that opponents face in the course of the 140-mile race.

Fire crews have been informed a couple of “lost swimmer” at round 7:30 a.m., one hour into the pro-female swim, KPRC reported.

Rescuers battled difficult visibility circumstances earlier than Flávia’s physique was pulled from the water simply after 9:30 a.m. 

Montgomery County Sheriffs confirmed that the sufferer “drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event,” based on a statement. The workplace mentioned its Major Crimes unit will proceed the investigation “per normal protocols.”

Shawn McDonald, a volunteer, recounted the commotion earlier than the swimmer’s physique was recovered.

The dad, who volunteered together with his daughter Mila, 12, mentioned a bunch of youthful volunteers in a kayak raised a flag and blew their whistles, “yelling for help.”

“I heard them say she went under,” he wrote on Facebook. 

“I had Mila hand me the paddle and I began calling out to the athletes round us to cease so I might cross. I made my approach over in about 30 seconds.

“When I got there and asked what happened, they all said the same thing: She went under. Right here. Right below us. The panic and fear on their faces won’t leave me for a long time.”

The volunteer recalled how one man had a “thousand-yard stare” on his face – earlier than diving into the water in a determined bid to seek out Flávia.

“I dove in immediately and began searching. After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot. I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down. She was gone.”

Boats with sonar combed the world – and McDonald was informed to go away the water earlier than the physique was recovered.

“The victim was found in about 10 feet of water on the bottom of the lake,” Buck mentioned. “The dive team accessed the victim, brought her up about 9:37 and then brought her over to the shore where she was pronounced DOS [deceased on scene],” Palmer Buck, the Woodlands fireplace chief, mentioned.

It’s not identified what brought on the triathlete to go underneath the water.

Journalism grad Flávia beforehand labored in radio and tv earlier than pursuing a sporting profession at age 28.

She beforehand twice received the Brazilian Grand Prix, and completed third within the Brasilia triathlon occasion.