THE death of one of the world's top triathletes was drugs-related, an inquest heard.

Thirty-seven-year-old Chris Stirling, of Clappersgate, near Ambleside, was found unresponsive at his home on the morning of April 29, 2019.

CPR was performed by friends at the scene but he later died at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

At Cockermouth Coroner’s Court, partner Jo Kilkenny paid tribute to Mr Stirling.

She said: “Chris was the kindest, gentlest person who would to anything for anyone.

“He was amazingly talented at sport and unaware of his self-worth.”

The inquest heard how Mr Stirling, originally from Bristol, had a history of problems with drugs and alcohol, with mum Moira saying he began taking drugs in his mid-teens.

He later attended rehab but substance misuse remained a ‘spectre’ in Mr Stirling’s life, said assistant coroner Craig Smith.

In 2009 Mr Stirling completed a four-week programme which was apparently successful in detoxing him, and nearly a decade of abstinence followed.

However, Mr Smith said the runner started drinking again in March 2019 and was experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts.

In the following weeks Mr Stirling’s family and friends tried to persuade him to seek help, the hearing heard.

In April, he visited an alcohol and drug recovery service.

He was admitted as a voluntary patient at the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle on April 14 and was later discharged to the Cumbria Crisis Service in Whitehaven, which provides support and accommodation for people suffering mental health crises.

A forensic toxicology report found cocaine and opiates in Mr Stirling’s urine, as well as morphine in his blood in levels ‘associated with fatality’.

The pathologist ruled the ‘respiratory effect’ of the opiate drugs was the ‘most significant’ factor in Mr Stirling’s death.

Mr Smith said: “There is nothing in the evidence that would lead me to find that this was anything other than an accidental overdose in this instance.”

Mr Smith went on to conclude the death of Mr Stirling was ‘drugs-related’.

Mr Stirling finished eighth in the Norseman Xtreme triathlon in 2018 and stormed to victory in the 2018 Brutal Extreme Triathlon in Wales, shattering the record in an event that has been voted the world's toughest.

Mr Stirling also won the Celtman triathlon in 2017 and the Canada Man Xtri in the same year.