The grieving widow of a former Team USA triathlete and father of two broke down in tears Sunday as she delivered a deeply emotional farewell at his funeral, days after he died in a drowning accident while on vacation.
Spencer Korwin, 38, of Manhattan, had been staying with his wife at the Pridwin Hotel on Shelter Island when he vanished during a morning swim and later was found to have tragically drowned.
Family and friends gathered Sunday at Temple Israel on New York City’s Upper East Side for a heartbreaking service, where Korwin’s wife, Carly, sobbed as she remembered the man she called the love of her life.
“This is a nightmare. This is the worst day of my life. I can’t accept that this is real and that Spencer is not going to come home,” she said.
“Spencer was more than I could ever have dreamed of when it came to a husband, a father, and a friend. He was the best human I have ever met, and he was the love of my life.
“We had the most beautiful and special once-in-a-lifetime type of love, and we knew it.
Carly Korwin delivered a tearful tribute to her husband, Spencer, following his tragic drowning
Spencer Korwin previously represented Team USA and competed at the 2012 Triathlon World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand
‘We always said forever isn’t long enough. And I will never be able to make sense as to why this incredible life we built together, filled with happiness and so much love, was ripped away from us in an instant.’
The couple began dating years after they graduated from Syracuse University. They share two daughters, Sadie, 4, and Colette, 1.
‘He wrote me and the girls notes all the time and hung them around the apartment,’ Carly continued.
‘He was filled with surprises and hugs just because… he had automated texts set up twice a day just to remind me that he loves me, I’m a wonderful mom and wife.
‘I know the girls will never stop missing him, and he will forever be their hero.’
Korwin entered the water at the hotel’s docks around 8am on Wednesday, police said. The waters were calm that day, but the currents can be strong due to the narrow passage it flows through, authorities said.
‘However, these are open waters where tides, currents and boat traffic are always considerations,’ Shelter Island Police Chief James Read told The Times.
Marine and air units were deployed, and Korwin’s body was found around 3pm underneath the docks at the hotel. His body was pulled onto a boat.
Korwin and his wife were staying at the Pridwin Hotel at the time of his drowning
He went for a swim around 8am and his body was found under the docs around 3pm
Officials believe Korwin died from accidental drowning, but his official cause of death is pending the medical examiner’s report.
The Syracuse University graduate was a member of Team USA in 2012, when he competed in the Triathlon World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
He was sponsored by Gatorade for five years, his LinkedIn said.
Korwin opened a children’s outdoor summer camp in Southampton in 2020. A year later, he opened Korwin Health & Wellness, a company specializing in personal fitness and holistic health.
He was also a trainer for SportsLab NYC in 2013.
‘He was the sun around which so many of our lives orbited, and his loss is being felt deeply by everyone who knew and loved him,’ a family friend said in a GoFundMe set up to help his children.
‘Spencer was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend.’
The fundraiser has garnered just under $340,000 out of its $500,000 goal, as of Sunday night.
Korwin was the second person to drown off Shelter Island this summer. On May 16, Timothy Magambo, a college student, drowned off Wades Beach.
He and a group were swimming to Shell Beach when he got separated and floated hundreds of yards away.
Southold Police Captain Scott Latham told The Times that swimmers should not venture out too deeply into the water or where currents are strong.
Lifeguards are typically on duty from 11am to 5pm.
