The facts date from Tuesday, August 15. 48-year-old Pierre Close had a serious crash with his bicycle during the Embrunman triathlon. The accident happened at the beginning of the cycle route, which is 188 kilometers long.
The triathlete, from the Liège village of Fraiture, was immediately transported to Grenoble University Hospital. Close suffered a serious brain injury from the fall and ended up in a coma. The young father died on Thursday.
Close worked as head doctor at the Montlégia Hospital in Liège. He was also chairman of his triathlon association. Close’s fellow athletes are deeply saddened by his death. “Goodbye my coach, you made me realize that perseverance, resilience and dedication can move mountains. You believed in me and helped me achieve my unlikely goals,” one of his friends wrote on Facebook.