The sister of Brazilian fitness influencer Mara Flávia who died aged 38 after drowning during an Ironman competition in Texas, has publicly spoken out following her sibling’s tragic death.
Flávia sadly died during Saturday’s competition, when she mysteriously vanished during the swimming leg of the gruelling fitness challenge.
Ironman Texas shared the news that somebody had died on social media on the day of the competition.
"We are saddened to confirm the death of a race participant during the swim portion of today’s IRONMAN Texas triathlon," it wrote online.
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"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 their assistance."
Mara is said to have disappeared under the water shortly after starting the swimming part of the triathlon, PEOPLE reports.
Competitors and lifeguards did their best to try and help her, but it was ultimately a dive team that retrieved her body around 9am local time from Woodlands Lake in Northshore Park.
Now, just two days after her death, her sister Melissa, has shared a public statement acknowledging her tragic loss.
“You lived life intensely. You were always synonymous with determination, with courage — with a strength that seemed too vast to be contained within you,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. “You never did anything halfway; perhaps that is why you left such a profound mark on the lives of everyone who crossed your path.”
Describing Mara as her ‘other half’, Melissa continued: “A piece of me is gone, and I will have to learn to live without it. And it hurts in a way I cannot even explain. It is a strange silence, a void I knew existed all along — as if the world itself had lost a little of its color.”
“We were always a team, and we still are — just in a different way now. Somehow, I know you will still be with me: in my decisions, in my courage whenever my strength falters, and in those little daily moments that only the two of us truly understood,” she continued. “I will carry you with me in everything I do. Rest now, my sister. It will hurt down here, but I will honor your life every single day.”
An investigation into Mara's death is now ongoing, with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office taking to Facebook on April 18, to share further details about the incident.
"The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office can confirm that a participant in today’s Ironman Triathlon in the Woodlands has drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event," the statement read.
"The Woodlands Fire Department completed the rescue in Lake Woodlands near North Shore Park. Once it was determined the participant was deceased, The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office began their investigation into this drowning per normal protocols."
"MCSO Major Crimes detectives are on scene and will continue their investigation," it added.
UNILAD have approached Ironman for comment.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email [email protected].
Topics: Texas, Social Media
Phoebe Tonks