The final social media message from a Brazilian fitness influencer, posted just two days before her death, is a heartbreaking and haunting reminder of the amazing life she lived.
What Was the Post?
Mara Flávia posted a picture of herself sitting on the edge of a swimming pool. The post captured what would be her last training session before her upcoming appearance at Ironman Texas, scheduled for Saturday, April 18, near Houston at Lake Woodlands.
The 38-year-old fitness influencer, who boasted more than 60,000 followers online, was dressed in goggles and a matching pink swimsuit and cap. She wrote the caption in Portuguese: “Just another day at work.”
The Fitness Influencer Disappeared During an Ironman Competition
On the morning of April 18, during the open-water swim portion of the 140.6-mile triathlon, Flávia disappeared.
We reported yesterday that emergency services were alerted to the fitness influencer’s disappearance at around 7:30 a.m. local time. The water’s low visibility made the search for Flávia difficult.
Then, approximately three hours after she went missing that morning, Flávia was located and pronounced dead at the scene. Her body was found 10 feet below the lake’s surface.
Shawn McDonald was one of the volunteers that helped locate Flávia.
“After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot,” he wrote in a social media post. “I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down.
“She was gone. I don’t know how to describe what that felt like. I tried again. And again. And again.”
He then said he “lost count” of how many times he dove beneath the surface over the next hour, desperately trying to find her.
“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,” a statement from race organizers read. “Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for their assistance.”
It is not yet known what caused the fitness influencer to go underwater.