The Australian triathlete Mirinda Carfrae lost out in a virtual race after her husband tripped and disconnected the power cable of her smart bike.
Carfrae, a former triathlon world champion, was competing in the inaugural Ironman VR Pro Challenge women’s race from her home in Colorado. She was second in the race, which was broadcast live on Facebook, when disaster struck.
Her husband and fellow triathlete, Tim O’Donnell, came into the room and tripped over the cord, severing her connection to the race. Carfrae kept pedalling for the rest of the 55-mile stage, despite falling off the leaderboard.
After holding up a sign reading “It’s Tim’s fault!”, Carfrae explained what had happened to commentators over a video call, as her husband sheepishly stood beside her.
“He decided to bring my trophies in here as motivation and when he walked around the back he kicked out the plug,” the 39-year-old said. “What an idiot!”
On her Instagram story, the three-times world Ironman champion tried to see the funny side, but admitted she was “super-bummed” to not finish the race. “Tim is racing next weekend and I won’t pull his cord out,” she said.
The US triathlete Jocelyn McCauley won the race, with the Canadian pair Angela Naeth and Jeanni Seymour finishing second and third respectively.
