The 38-year-old man is from Roswell, Georiga, which is actually an Atlanta suburb.

The Gulf Coast tri-athlete, Patrick Kane, was pulled from the ocean behind the Boardwalk Beach Resort this morning. BMC's surf rescue team pulled Kane from the water after he flipped over on his back.

Florida wildlife officials tell us the tri-athlete was on the return leg of the swim in the surf zone when he first began to struggle.

We're not sure what exactly led to the struggle, but the race water was rough. Kane was taken to Bay Medical Center and died a short time later.

We spoke to the Gulf Coast race director, Shelley Bramblett, over the phone. She says she spent most of the day in the hospital with Patrick Kane's loved ones.

"Today we had an unfortunate incident at the Gulf Coast Triathlon involving a 37-year-old male athlete. Ours and our heartfelt sympathy goes out to them, and we want everybody to pray for them along with us."

The swim course of the triathlon is a 1.2-mile open water swim in the Gulf of Mexico. The swim leg he struggled in is the first part of the 70.3-mile tri.