A former British and European sailing champion died after an accident on a mountain biking tour in Italy, an inquest has heard.
Jamie Mears, a distinguished sailor, was on the second day of a package cycling tour with his brother in the Imperia province of Italy when he tragically died aged 46 on May 6. Cycling from Molini di Triora, Mears came off his mountain bike and fell roughly 10 metres into a ravine.
He later died as a result of multiple injuries, as senior coroner Lincoln Brooks confirmed the death was an accident at Chelmsford Coroners' Court. Mears was not seen falling off his bike, but was said to have slid off a wet stone before falling into the ravine.
The inquest heard that an ambulance service arrived at the accident near Molini di Triora within 20 minutes, and Mears was conscious after his fall. He was resuscitated after suffering a cardiac arrest, but had a second cardiac arrest while being airlifted to a nearby hospital and could not be revived.
It has now been concluded that Mears died from multiple injuries as a result of his fatal fall from the 10 metre height. Mears and his brother Stewart were on a different path than what had been initially planned after a lorry had blocked their route.
"It was a pretty innocuous pass and the gradient was pretty shallow. The sort of riding we do isn't extreme," brother Stewart said. "But we weren't aware of the steep drop on this trail."
Mears, from Essex, leaves behind his wife Gemma and his three sons after his tragic death. The 46-year-old was a renowned figure in the British sailing scene and had great success both domestically and at European level.
After graduating to compete in the 18 footers class, Jamie and his brother Stewart won four overall UK Grand Prix titles with his PICA team, per a recent obituary.
Mears' biggest success in sailing came with a second place finish at the prestigious Mark Foy Trophy regatta, which meant his team were named European champions in 2011.
"Jamie will be remembered as one of the great UK skiff sailors of his era," sailing league director Grant Rollerson said.
"He always campaigned hard and with his brother Stu and, normally someone else with a fair bit of talent, like Tristan Hutt, Sandy Ramus or Matt Gill, they posted impressive results for years on end. Jamie embodied the classic skiff yachtie; tough as nails on the water and fast to buy you a beer on land. Sail on mate."
Fellow sailor Sandy Rasmus added: "Obviously, we are all totally knocked for six right now but I will say that Jamie was a full charger whether it was in the 18, on the mountain or indeed in the bar.
"I never saw the guy back off, it was always foot to the floor. He was a passionate and very talented sailor and I was lucky enough to race with and against him for the best part of 25 years."
