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A Triathlete Dies During the Mighty Hamptons Triathlon, Days After Another Drowning
Lin Chung, 34, was pulled unconscious from Noyack Bay during the Mighty Hamptons Triathlon, renewing attention on the risks of open-water swimming on the East End.
Sunday morning in Sag Harbor was supposed to be one of those crisp late-summer days where athletes carve up the bay and their friends cheer from the sand. Instead, things took a dark turn at the Mighty Hamptons Steve Tarpinian Memorial Triathlon. Lin Chung, 34, out from Queens and ready to swim 1.5 kilometers with the rest of the field, was pulled from Noyack Bay—unconscious. He never woke up.
By the time rescuers got him to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, it was too late. EventPower, the folks who run the race, put out the usual somber statement: Chung had a “medical emergency” during the swim. Not much else. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office is digging into it now, but no word yet on what actually happened.
It’s hard not to feel like there’s a pattern forming. Not two weeks ago, another open-water tragedy hit the East End. This time it was Spencer Korwin—a 38-year-old Manhattan dad, two kids, former Team USA triathlete—on Shelter Island for a family getaway. He slipped into the water for a morning swim and never came back. His body turned up under the dock where he started, after hours of searching.
The details were different, but one thing’s clear: in these bays and sounds, the water isn’t your friendly neighborhood pool. Police Chief Jim Read on Shelter Island tried to drive that home after Korwin died—currents, tides, boat traffic, all in the mix. Even top athletes can get in over their heads.
Triathletes know the swim’s the wild card. It’s first, it’s cold, it’s crowded, and you’re jumping into water you probably scoped out once the day before—maybe. At Mighty Hamptons, Noyack Bay looked calm enough. Nobody’s saying the water turned against Lin Chung. The investigation is ongoing. The witnesses still sorting through what they saw.
But here’s what we know. A 34-year-old showed up to race, dove in, and never walked up the beach again. And that’s the fact that’s going to stick with everyone chasing a finish line on the East End this season.