Ironman biker dies of embolism

CEBU CITY—An autopsy done on the biker who died on Sunday during the bike leg of the relay race of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines showed that he died of natural causes.

The autopsy on Ramon Igaña Jr., 44, showed that acute pulmonary embolism was the cause of his death. It was believed to have caused Igaña to fall off his bike during the Ironman 70.3 held last Sunday in Cebu.

The autopsy performed by Dr. Kathrina Saavedra Perez and Dr. Theodore Zamora revealed the presence of several blood clots in Igana’s lungs. The family of Igaña requested an autopsy to determine the cause of his death.

Dr. Perez told the Inquirer that death from acute pulmonary embolism could happen swiftly and without warning, as in the case of Igaña.

According to the WebMD website (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov), pulmonary embolism is the sudden blockage of a major blood vessel (artery) in the lung, usually by a blood clot camera. If a blood clot is large, or if there are many clots, pulmonary embolism can cause death.

Igaña fell from his bike in Barangay (village) Cansojong, Talisay City at around 9 a.m. However, his wife, Dr. Humility Igaña, did not know about the incident until hours later. She was waiting at the race transition area at Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort, since she was scheduled to do the run on the relay.

Witnesses told reporters earlier that Igaña was wobbling on his bike shortly before he fell to the ground. He was brought to the Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City where he was declared dead on arrival.

Dr. Igaña recalled that she saw no signs something was wrong with her husband prior to the start of the Ironman last Sunday in Cebu.

Just minutes before the start of the race at Shangri-La Mactan, Igaña and Dr. Humility were seen having fun, excited over their first Ironman.

In an interview over radio station dyAB, Humility said that her grief was lessened knowing that Ramon died doing what he loved.

“Biking is his passion even when he was single. That’s what he really loved to do. When he ran at marathons, he also ran fast and did not slow down,” she said.

The widow disclosed that she has yet to shed tears over her husband’s death because she “has to be strong” for their daughter Nina.