A British athlete has died while competing in a Costa del sol triathlon.
Mark Stokes, 57, collapsed as he was running during the competition in Torremolinos on Thursday.
He was one of two triathletes who died the same day, the other being a 79-year-old Mexican who has been named as Roger Mas.
Engineering expert and consultant Mark, believed to have been based in Reading, Berkshire, was named as pals went public with their heartbreak and paid tribute to him.
Fellow triathlete Tim Donnelly Smith, who had travelled to the Costa del Sol with Mark and was sharing an apartment with him, said in an agonising social media post alongside a picture of the two of them at a previous event: ‘This week we have been in Torremolinos, Spain, for the World Triathlon Championships. This is a race for which we both qualified over a year ago, in Bournemouth, where we first met.
‘We’ve raced together and kept in touch since.
‘Heartbreakingly on Thursday afternoon Mark collapsed in the final stages of the run leg of our race.
‘Medics were unable to resuscitate him and the world changed in a split-second for many people, almost all of whom I have never met.’
