Video of the water conditions when going in: https://twitter.com/Levandov_1/status/1693384419208298899
Two dead. How many quit midway, abandoned the race. That would also help add context. Rarely do people die in isolation, there were probably a lot of people struggling, they just happened to make it to a boat.
Their is a reason the swim happens first. Even for elite athletes the swim can be dangerous.
If you get tired running, you just walk, or stop.
If you get tired swimming you drown and die.
The risk factors for open water swimming are dramatically different from other sports. Many races get cancelled just based on water conditions.
I know its actually scary because I've seen some "countryside " swimmers get full panic for a third of that kinda waves.
There are levels to this and iron man organize should take that into account