A family is mourning the death of a Rossville man who died while doing what he loved: competing in an IRONMAN competition.

Marshall Martin died after getting an injury in the half IRONMAN on May 21st.

A Caring Bridge web page about Marshall says he suffered 'a subdural hematoma and multiple subarachnoid hemorrhage as well as a clavicle compound fracture and rib fractures."

The Walker County Sheriff's Office says the bike crash happened around 9:30 a.m. near highway 193 and Georgia Highway 2.

This was on the bike portion of the race.

"From what we've been told, he went limp and went down and suffered a head injury," says Chig Martin.

Martin's brother Chig says he died about a week later.

"We've had so many great memories over the years of traveling together and in racing triathlons," says Chig.

Chig says his brother got him back into riding his bike.

"It's helped me get through this week. I've ridden every day. It's such a weird thing, because that's how I lost him," says Chig.

And as for the future, Chig says there is something he might do.

"There's talk that maybe there's some unfinished business at the Chattanooga half IRONMAN, so we'll see," says Chig.

Marshall's brother told us his funeral services will be held this Monday.

We reached out to IRONMAN officials, who gave the following statement:

“We are incredibly saddened to learn that a race participant from this year’s IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga triathlon on Sunday, May 21, passed away yesterday. During the bike portion of the event in Walker County, the athlete required and was provided immediate medical care from local authorities and emergency services working the event before being transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment. We share our greatest sympathies with the family and friends of the athlete and will continue to offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time. We thank the safety personnel and first responders who worked quickly to provide the athlete with medical support."

When we asked about safety measures for the race, they say...

“We have extensive safety and security measures and protocols that are created in conjunction with local and state authorities and emergency services. In the case of this event, we had numerous planning and preparation meetings leading up to race day with the respective authorities both in Tennessee and Georgia."

Ryan Shrum knew Martin from high school, and says Martin was always excited to come back to Chattanooga to race.

'You could tell he was really excited to always come to his hometown and, and get out there and do the race,' Shrum said. 'You know, the bike course actually went really close to the neighborhood he grew up in, in North Georgia. So he was always really excited to come back and see his friends and race in Chattanooga.