The late Caroline Kearney

Still attempting to come to terms with terrible news I got on Thursday. Triathlete Caroline Kearney, daughter of Ann, has died, aged only 24. She was in an accident while training with a group on her bike last Wednesday, near St Raphael, in the south of France, where she was training full-time with her sights set firmly on a place at the Beijing Olympics. Other members of the group were injured and the driver of the car arrested.
Only a few days earlier, Caroline had an encouraging outing at the European Championships, in Autun, France, where she was among the first out of the water and held on for 29^th place despite the heat and the treacherous conditions. I had written a piece for the Herald.
In a strange twist, I got the news via an email from Tom Coyle, to whom I had broken the news about Ann’s death two and a half years ago; Tom had been Ann’s first coach. I had meant to phone Caroline before I left for here last February because she was heading off to Australia, but never got the chance.
Hard though I think about it, there is no consolation whatever to be got from any aspect of this senseless and tragic death and it is hard to imagine what Caroline’s heartbroken father Frank and sister Edith are going through. Too many triathletes are dying while training on their bikes. Why?