There are always some athletes who are forced to withdraw from the Ironman competition due to injury, but Sanford Schmid has a story to top any of them.

Schimd, who lives in Invermere, has been forced to withdraw from this year's race due to an otter attack suffered while he was training for the swim portion.

“I did one lap already, I was going out for a second swim, I had gone out about 200 metres when it felt like something had hit my foot. The I got hit again from underneath, so I flipped over onto my back, I didn't see anything. I started to feel kinda uncomfortable out in the water, so I made my way towards shore, at the same time the otter kept attacking me. A couple of times he actually popped his head out of the water and kinda stared right at me,” says Schmid.

He says at first, he thought he had kicked a log with his foot.

Schmid says his foot is now swollen with bites and he is undergoing treatment for rabies.

The attack occurred in a lake in the East Kootenays near Invermere.

The Ironman Triathlon takes places in Penticton Sunday.