Cameron Brown was forced to quit Ironman Malaysia due to the stinging effects of multiple jellyfish.
"It was a tough day in the heat at Ironman Malaysia, probably one of the hottest races I have ever done. The water temperature was a toasty 29c and felt like a bath and the heat index on the bike and run was around 38c. About half way along the first leg in the swim I hit some Jellyfish and got some pretty bad stings, coming back I got hit again and this was across my face and arms. Coming out of the water I started to feel the stings get worse but with the race unfolding I quickly got on my bike and was off chasing the leaders. At the 120km mark I was in 4th about 4mins down but started to feel really bad and my body started to shut down with the reaction to the stings, I could no longer push any speed or power at all and was struggling to push 20km/hr back to Transition. I got off the bike and my body went into complete shock and I went straight to the medical tent, I was feeling tingles all over my body and face and had a IV to help. After about 90mins I was finally let out but even after 24hrs I'm still feeling the effects of the stings. I will have a shout break before the training begins for Taiwan 70.3 on November 2nd, a race I'm looking forward to doing."
Words: Cameron Brown