Influencer who drowned during triathlon ignored friends' plea before death
An influencer who died during the Texas Ironman last weekend could have ignored friends' warnings about her ill health before the race.
It was confirmed on Monday that Brazilian content creator Mara Flávia Souza Araujo had died while competing at the triathlon style event in the US.
Emergency services were called after reports of a missing swimmer, with the 38-year-old's body being recovered from Lake Woodlands at 9:30am.
Her death was officially confirmed by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department in a statement given to US outlet NBC.
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"MCSO can confirm that Mara Flávia Souza Araujo, 38, of Brazil died while competing in the Ironman event in The Woodlands on Saturday," it read.
"Preliminary investigations indicate she drowned during the swimming portion of the event.
'We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete, and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time."
Araujo, who hails from Sao Paulo, had completed nine separate triathlons since 2018, and was in no way inexperienced heading into last weekend's event.
The 38-year-old has been sharing her training updates to her 60,000 Instagram followers as well as working as a radio presenter and DJ.
However, it has since been revealed by one of her friends that she was struggling with her health leading up to the event in Texas.
"She was ill before the trip, she wasn’t okay," influencer Luis Taveira said in an interview with The Spun.
Taveira claims to have warned Araujo and suggested she was too weak to race, but his warnings were not taken seriously.
"My wife and I spoke with her to say she was too weak for this race, although a couple of days ago when we talked to her, she insisted she was okay," he continued.
"I still cannot believe what’s happened. She was ill because of the flu."
Meanwhile Texas Ironman has since issued a statement regarding Flávia's death, saying: "We are saddened to confirm the death of a race participant during the swim portion of today's triathlon.
"We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete, and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time.
"Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for the assistance."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Tom Jenkins