‘Worrying’ health scare rules Joe Skipper out of IRONMAN Florida

British long-course star Joe Skipper spent the night in hospital on Sunday and won’t race again this season.

He had been hitting good numbers in training in his build-up to this weekend’s IRONMAN event in Florida.

But writing on Instagram and speaking on the video which is embedded below, the 35-year-old explained what happened.

‘Not the end to the season I had hoped for’

“On Sunday while I was getting ready to head out for a ride I was trying to talk to a friend when I found myself unable to talk.

“I knew what I wanted to say but was unable to get it out, my memory also went and this is bad at the best of times but I found myself unable to remember ‘powerful pensioner’s’ name and many other people.

“I ended up going to hospital, getting a CT scan, staying the night, having more tests and was then given the all clear to leave.

“I’ve still got one more test to do but it’s looking good, all be it very worrying at the time. The doctors have said to take it easy for a few days and then I’ll be good to go as long as the last test shows nothing bad.

“Unfortunately not the end to the season I had hoped for. I won’t be in Florida racing this Saturday or Cozumel.”

‘You never know what’s around the corner’

Skipper had been hoping to end what had been a frustrating season in terms of results with a big performance in Florida and had been scheduled to fly out on Tuesday.

But speaking in the video he added: “It turns out that this can be a precursor to a migraine, where you can have something like this happen.

“I’d never known about this before and it’s very rare and would normally happen on older people. I have had a couple of migraines before but we’re talking two in ten years. It seems like that was what it was down to but obviously at the time it was very worrying and I’ve just got one more test to put that to bed and make sure that it was that and not anything more serious.

“So I’ll be having a bit of time off, chilling out with the family and then will build up to next year starting off with Oceanside and IRONMAN Texas and having a crack at the IRONMAN Pro Series.

“I know it sounds very cliche guys, but make sure you really do live your best life as you never know what’s around the corner!”

Everyone at TRI247 wishes Joe all the best with his continued recovery and we look forward to seeing him back in action next year.