Former Team USA triathlete drowns after getting into trouble swimming on family holiday
A triathlete who was formerly part of Team USA has drowned after going for a swim while on a family holiday, with an hours-long search finding his body.
Spencer Korwin, 38, had visited the Pridwin Hotel on Shelter Island while on holiday with his wife and children when at around 8am on Wednesday (2 September) morning he'd headed over to the Shelter Island Sound inlet in New York.
He went into the water at about that time but was reported missing when he didn't return at the time he was supposed to be around.
The Suffolk Times reports that the triathlete hadn't been seen since he went swimming, and by the middle of the morning a search effort closed the beach area around the hotel to look for him.
Air and marine units joined the search which found quiet waters until they looked beneath the Pridwin Dock and found Korwin's body.
It was the dock he'd set off from, and the New York Post reports that local residents said there was 'nothing unusual' about the weather the morning Korwin went missing.
Officials believe he died from accidental drowning but are waiting for final confirmation from the coroner, and there have been warnings about swimming in unfamiliar open waters.
Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read said that while the area was not known to be dangerous there would need to be caution 'where tides, currents and boat traffic are always considerations'.
Korwin, who had represented Team USA in the 2012 triathlon World Championships, had spent years as a successful athlete who also later founded a fitness company.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help his family, which has raised over $270,000 of its $300,000 target in a matter of days.
"It is with unimaginable heartbreak that we mourn the sudden loss of Spencer Korwin," the fundraising organisers said, noting how people had asked them how they could best help his two young daughters.
"Spencer was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend. He was the sun around which so many of our lives orbited, and his loss is being felt deeply by everyone who knew and loved him.
"So many of you have asked how you can be there for Sadie, 4, and Colette, 1. In that spirit, we’ve set up a fund for their future education, as one way to keep Spencer’s community close to them as they grow.
"We hope it can serve as a reminder, when they’re old enough to understand it, of how loved their father was and how many people are in their corner.
"Whether through a contribution, a message, or simply keeping Spencer in your thoughts, every expression of love means so much to the Korwin family."
Joe Harker