The Deadly Sport Of Triathlons
A forty year-old woman competitor died in the Nautical New York City Triathlon after experiencing difficulty breathing during the swimming section of the marathon.
This followed a day after a 64-year old man had died during the race, after he was dragged unconscious from the Hudson River. Police believe he suffered a heart attack.
Police have reported that 26 other competitors also required assistance for minor injuries during the swimming portion of the annual mile swim, 25 mile bike ride and 6 mile run.
Overall, eight deaths occurred in triathlons in the early part of 2011. Twenty of the total 25 deaths connected with triathlons, as recorded by USA Triathlon, happened while competitors were completing the swimming section of the events.
Few people think of triathlons and marathons as being a lethal sport, however, there were two high-profile deaths of marathon runners in 2007, one in Chicago and the other during the Olympic trials in New York. There have also been many other deaths, including the Little Rock Marathon in March 2008, the London Marathon in 2007, the Tucson, Twin Cities and Marine Corps Marathons in 2006 plus the Chicago Marathon in 2007. Two runners also died in the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon. Three men died of heart attacks in 2009, during the Detroit Marathon and two in a San Jose, California race. During the 2010 Dallas Rock N Roll Half-marathon a male participant also died.
Some studies have exposed the fact that pushing the body to run 26.2 miles can cause at least minor injury to the heart. Malissa Wood, M.D., the lead author of a 2006 study in the journal Circulation says “We didn’t find any gross injuries, such as blocked arteries or blood leakage. But we did find some enzymes leaking through the heart membrane, which is consistent with significant stress on the heart”.
Pheidippides, the original marathoner and Greek courier, died after having run 25 miles to deliver the news of victory at the Battle of Marathon.
The danger of dying from triathlons, which include running, biking and swimming, is around 1.5 per 100,000 competitors. A retired 72-year-old exercise physiologist from Old Dominion University, with a history of 123 marathons and countless shorter races, states “Fortunately, deaths are pretty rare.”
About the Author
Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO’s and founders of YouMe Support Foundation, providing high school education grants for children who are without hope. You can help in this really great project by taking a few minutes to check out the Sponsor a Student program at (http://youmesupport.org). It will change the life of some really needy kids in the South Pacific.
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