Death At A Sporting Event

Tragedies are not uncommon in Sports. Athletes have died on the field of play more often than you would think, and their deaths become markers of remembrance for fans. Famous examples include Ray Chapman, Chuck Hughes, Hank Gathers, and Bill Masterton. Their deaths helped to remind us that it really is just a game that they play, and to take maximum joy in watching these athletes perform.

There was another death in sports over the weekend.

And now you must be wondering, why haven't I heard of this? Well that's because it took place in the sports mecca of Heinola, Finland, a town located 86 miles north of Helsinki. And its claim to fame, (besides a closed down plywood mill) is the World Sauna Championship.

Well, it was its claim to fame. The 2010 edition will be the last Sauna Championship ever held, due to the death of semifinalist Vladimir Ladyzhensky.(warning: very graphic photos at the link) Also, here's a video of the competition(may need to translate if you don't understand Norwegian)

According to Finn Timo Kaukonen (who I guess is the winner):

"I was in two rounds in the semi-finals, and I already have red eyelids and blisters on your fingers. It does not feel good to go in there, but I'll bite your teeth together, and then we'll see what happens."

Incidentally, this event is described in Rick Reilly’s recent book about participating in weird sports. And it’s an event only a resident of Scandinavia could love: for a person to sit in a room, as water gets splashed onto hot rocks ratcheting up the humidity, trying to smoke you out. I don’t know why anyone would want to do that, to endure the pain of blasted skin and eye blisters.

But I guess people will always want to push themselves to extreme levels, so one must salute these competitors for going all out to win.

As for Mr. Ladyzhensky, at least he went out doing something he liked to do. RIP Vladimir.

But I’ll never look at a sauna the same way again.

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