Triathlete killed while training for Heart O’ Dixie Triathlon
A competitor with a Philadelphia connection training for the Heart O’ Dixie Triathlon died in a cycling accident earlier this month in Oxford.
Robby Tucker, 35, of Oxford, was riding his bicycle with a group of friends near Abbeville when a dog ran out and collided with the wheel of his bike.
Tucker, who was wearing a safety helmet, was thrown from the bike and hit his head on the pavement. He did not survive his injuries. He died in a Memphis hospital on July 6.
He is survived by his wife, Ashton Agent Tucker, who grew up in Philadelphia. She is the daughter of Bernard and Tammy Agent of Philadelphia.
“They would go on long rides,” Ashton said. “They went every weekend. The Heart O’ Dixie would have been his next race. Technically, that was what he was training for.”
The Tuckers were regular attendees of the Neshoba County Fair.
“My family has a cabin on Sunset Strip,” Ashton said. “We have had it since the 1960s. Robby had been going with me to the Fair for the past 15 years, as long as we have been together.”
Tucker was originally from Memphis. He was at Ole Miss where he met and fell in love with his wife, Ashton. He graduated Cum Laude with double bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration and management.
He always enjoyed being outdoors. He liked to work in the yard and fish. Ashton said he took up triathlons in 2016 and had been competing in Iron Man triathlons as well.
“He had been doing it for about five years,” Ashton said. “He got involved when he was about 30 and was doing it to stay in shape. He had been athletic growing up and played soccer in college.
“Once all of that ended, he was working and decided he wanted to get back into shape. He always finished the races. But he wasn’t doing it to be a top finisher; he was doing it to stay in shape.”
Tucker was employed as the North Mississippi district manager for Republic National Distributing Co. He was the son of the late Bobby Lloyd Tucker and surviving Diane Gordon Tucker.