Triathlete Tim O’Donnell discusses his heart attack in this screen capture from a video he posted to YouTube on Thursday.
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Tim O’Donnell, who finished second in the Kona Ironman World Championships in 2019, has been absent from racing since March.
In an emotional YouTube video posted Thursday evening, the world-class triathlete and Shavertown native revealed the reason he hasn’t been competing is that he suffered a “widowmaker” heart attack while competing in the Challenge Miami triathlon on March 14.
“The heart attack I suffered was from a block in my LAD,” O’Donnell said. “That’s one of your main arteries. It’s nickname is the widowmaker. …
“I’m super lucky. I’ve been told the survival rate is 12 percent. My particular block was at the top of the artery which actually makes it worse.”
O’Donnell, 40, says he is doing “great” now but felt it was important to share his story because it’s not as rare of an occurence as most would believe.
“It’s a crazy story. It’s not one you expect to hear,” O’Donnell said. “I’m literally one of the fittest guys out there. I’m just coming off a podium at the championships. To go to a race and suffer a heart attack with no really warnings …
“There’s a lot of healthy guys my age that have the same experience.”
O’Donnell believes the attack hit him in the middle of the bike portion of the swim-bike-run competition.
“I was probably about two-thirds through the bike … when it basically happened,” O’Donnell said. “I started getting just chest pains across my chest, shooting pains down my left arm, then my jaw started to lock up. … I just knew this was not a normal race pain. This was something more.
“I thought to myself, ‘Is this a heart attack?’ I was literally on my (handle)bars asking myself that question in my head, and my response was, ‘You wouldn’t be pushing 300-and-whatever watts if you’re having a heart attack right now.’ ”
O’Donnell actually finished the 70.3-mile race in 11th place with a time of 2:44:57.
It wasn’t until about an hour after the event and consulting with his wife, three-time Ironman world champion Miranda Carfrae, and a family physician that went to a hospital.
“When bad things happen, they are never in your plans, and this is no different,” Carfrae says in the video while holding her and O’Donnell’s young daughter. “We are obviously very grateful that he made it through the incident. …
“We came this close to losing him.”
O’Donnell promised to keep the public updated with his recovery through future videos.