Triathlete MacLaren Injured During Race, Condition ‘Serious’

Jim MacLaren of Boulder, Colo., was listed in serious condition Tuesday at Mission Viejo Community Hospital after he was injured during the amateur race of the Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon Sunday morning at Lake Mission Viejo.

MacLaren, who lost his left leg in an automobile accident in 1985--he wasn’t expected to live--and races with a prothesis, was struck by a vehicle during the cycling segment of the swim-bike-run event and was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery Sunday.

According to nurse Nancy Gasho, MacLaren fractured his vertebrae in the collision and is paralyzed from the shoulders down. Gasho said it’s too early to determine whether his condition will improve and how much, if any, mobility he will regain. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was conscious and alert.

A hospital spokeswoman said MacLaren was admitted at 8:34 a.m., an hour and a half after the race began. Information about the accident was sketchy. The Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. won’t have more information until Friday, when its report is filed.

Major intersections on the race course were blocked off by the sheriff’s department Sunday. MacLaren was hit on the corner of Los Alisos and Vista del Lago, but there was confusion whether the vehicle that hit MacLaren went through barricades or was waved through.

Friends of MacLaren, who is a popular figure in the close-knit community of triathlon, didn’t hear about the accident until Monday, and when they did, few details were known.

It is believed that a vehicle, possibly a van, hit the back wheel of MacLaren’s bike. As he was thrown off his bike, he hit a fixed object, possibly a sign, on the side of the road.

According to Russell Moore of San Diego-based Tinley, a clothing manufacturer with which MacLaren is associated, MacLaren recently moved to Boulder from the East Coast. Last year he co-authored a book with actor Kirk Douglas.

Two weeks ago, MacLaren ran a 3-hour 18-minute marathon in Germany, a world record for amputee athletes.

The Jim MacLaren Recovery Fund has been established for him. Contributions can be sent to CS Sports, 11840 Gorham Ave. Suite 1, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049 or to Tinley, 5111 Santa Fe St., San Diego, Calif., 92109.