Revista de Medicina Desportiva (English) September 2018 | Page 30

How many athletes died during
the Olympic Games (OG)?
Dr. Basil Ribeiro – V N Gaia
It is a question that comes out
when addressing the question about
sudden death in sport and the safety
of the high-performance sports
practice by people well-conditioned
and considered very healthy, that
certainly were subjected to a strict
medical screening. Of course, the
regular practice of sports, with an
intensity adapted to the regular
physical condition, it is not only
healthy, as safe. According to Dr.
Todd Miller, a cardiologist from de
Mayo Clinic, in USA, for the young
athlete, under 30 years of age, there
is an estimation of 80 deaths per
year due to cardiovascular causes,
while there are 20000 deaths/year
due to accidents with motor vehi-
cles, homicides and suicides.
Since the OG in 1896, held in Ath-
ens, two athletes have died during
Summer OG. The first occurred in
1912, during the OG in Sweden: the
Portuguese marathoner Francisco
Lázaro, 21 years of age, died on the
following day after collapsing at the
km 29 of the marathon race. In order
to minimize the loss of water by
sweating (there are reports that refer
the goal was the sun protection), he
covered the whole body with fat. The
absence of the control process of
sweating-evaporation led to hyper-
thermia and heat shock. Unfortu-
nately, the promise he had made
before the race was fulfilled: “Either I
win, or I die.”
The other situation occurred in
the OG of Rome, in 1960, with the
Danish cyclist Knut Jensen. On the
100km team time-trial, held under
the temperature of 40 degrees, he
suffered heat shock, collapsed dur-
ing the race, felt and fractured the
skull. It was also said he had taken
stimulants (amphetamines and
nicotinic tartrate), but this has not
been officially confirmed.
During the Winter OG the scenery
is different, because the deaths can
also come the trauma related to
the accidents, in the small vehicles
(photo) or on the skis. There are
already four deaths arising from
sports accidents:
• Winter OG in Innsbruck, Austria,
on 1964
• Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski, Polish,
luger (light sleigh), died in training
two weeks before the start of the
Games
• Ross Milne, Australian, 19 years
of age, downhill skiing, died after
crashing into a tree during trai-
ning – Winter JO in Albertville,
France, on 1992
• Nicolas Bochatay, Swiss, 27-year-
-old, speed skier, died after
crashing into a machine during
training – Winter JO in Vancouver,
Canada, on 2010
• Nodar Kumaritashvili (photo), of
Georgia, 21 years of age, luger,
died in the hospital hours before
the start of the OG. He drove the
sled at 143 miles per hour, crashed
(was referred due to high speed)
and eventually hit his head on a
metal pole.
Bibliography
1. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/athlete-
deaths-rare-during-olympics/
2. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle
/867462?nlid=108933_3561&src=WNL_
mdplsfeat_160823_mscpedit_wir&uac=1303
8BR&spon=17&impID=1183948&faf=1#vp_3
JO de Atenas em 1896
Francisco Lázaro
28 september 2018 www.revdesportiva.pt
Knut Jensen após a queda
O atleta Nodar Kumaritashvili