The Cause of Death in Recent Triathlons
My friend Karen Wilson is a talented physician at The University of Rochester, and she's also an avid triathlete. She sent me the link to this really interesting article from the NY times:
Recent Triathlon Deaths Have Experts Searching for Answers
The most interesting point she made was this:
I don't think they autopsy the brain routinely, and sudden head trauma may not show up that quickly anyway. It doesn't even appear that CHI is a consideration
Now does this mean that everyone who dies in a triathlon has been hit in the head? No. But say I was killed at Ironman Lake Placid. The most likely place a medical examiner would have looked to would have been my heart.
I could have very simply been knocked out, and with 2000+ people swimming over me, well you know the rest.
Plus think about this...... feel the back of your head.... that big lump right in the back. Now move your hand down your neck to where you feel that second bump, that vertebrae at the top of your back. That's unprotected area.
We've heard of the lacrosse player around here who was hit right there with a ball and died. And the softball player who took a hit there and died. It's a rarity, and it takes the perfect hit, but get wailed there and you are done.
So there letter has been written and has been sent to various people. When a swimmer complains about a swim people tend to listen. Listening is all I want. Will there be change? I don't know. But as you take a look at the profiles of the people who have unfortunately died in a triathlon, they are not people who should have problems with their heart. As Karen pointed out, a head injury isn't going to manifest quickly enough for an autopsy.
Are we overlooking something? Are we overlooking the head?
While my accident is certainly a combination of being in the right place at the right time for three separate blows to the head (if I could only be in the right place and the right time for the lotto), it doesn't discount that another cause of death could be completely overlooked.
6 comments:
Wow, Mary - this hits home. This year at LP I had a brief moment of panic after getting clocked in the face, HARD. It stunned me, and it was the first time, in 6 IMs, that I felt panic that something BAD would happen if somehow I couldn't continue swimming due to the impact.
I was initially worried that I had a head injury (2 concussions in the past, one from a bike accident) and would literally get swum over to the point of being drown. Then, after the initial panic subsided, I was convinced I had a broken or chipped tooth (I didn't). I vowed during that swim I would never do another mass start in Mirror Lake.
(p.s. I had to restrict access to my blog for personal reasons, but if you (or anyone else) would like to read it just shoot me an email at c.jovanovic@comcast(dot)net and I'll add your name to the reader list.)
I saw that article too. Good point Mary! Most of the deaths are male athletes. We can speculate that male athletes tend to be more aggressive in the swim... (as a percentage of total, although there are also a higher percentage of males doing triathlons in general...)
I'm seeing a huge market for your swim helmet... ;)
Mary, I hate those swim starts.. it's the guaranteed hour of my year that I fear for my life. Get that letter out there.
I had no idea about the heart attack at 20! Scary stuff girl. Were you this athletic back then?
My biggest worry going into Ironman last year as a first timer was the swim, and I have been swimming since I was a kid. I was so thankful that Louisville had to change to a time trial start, truly a blessing from God! I am not kidding. Anyway, I think I just saw that Louisville is sticking with that same time trail, very smart.
Heal up.
Looking forward to hearing about your new adventures!
Hi Mary! Great article...i'm definitely anxiously awaiting your swim helmet debut! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog (and reassuring me that others are lazy too =0).
Your Splish suit freaking rocks!!! I love that company...so adorable.
And, I think it's so awesome you have Texas to focus on while your head heals and you have some good thoughts coming up! So glad you are on the mend!!
Your blog is always swim stuff and lately it is SCARY swim stuff... you have me officially freaked out...
Hope you are feeling better with every passing day!
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