Man dies at World Sauna Championships

Russian contestant Vladimir Ladyzhensky has collapsed and died after competing in the annual World Sauna Championships in Finland, his Finnish rival, Timo Kaukonen also collapsed at the event and still remains in hospital. Both men collapsed after suffering severe burns, whilst competing in the event which requires participants to withstand 110C (230F) for as long as possible, both men managed six minutes in the sauna before judges noticed something was not right.

The events chief organiser Ossi Arvela said: “All the rules were followed and there were enough first aid personnel. All the competitors needed to sign in to the competition with a doctor’s certificate. Half a litre of water was added to the stove inside the sauna every 30 seconds, and the last person remaining was the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things”. I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit. It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.”

Although Mr Kaukonen, the defending world champion appeared to be sick, he apparently refused to leave the sauna during the final, he is now said to be in a stable condition in hospital, police are now investigating Mr Ladyzhensky’s death which has left organisers grief-stricken. The World Sauna Championships which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999, will now never be held again after this tragic death.

Picture courtesy of thomaswanhoff

Health World News